After the Rain
by JeffC FTW
Summary: It had been raining so much, with the sun coming out periodically. But when times were hard, the flood increased and made everything gloomy and hopeless. But now that the sun had come out, everything had been cleansed and renewed. Final in the Night Flowers Saga.
1. Shower in Two Forms

**This is the final entry in the Night Flowers Saga (Night Flowers, The Winds of Spring, Bamboo Woods), after a long time in coming. :D In here will come even more drama, hurt and comfort, but ending with fresh renewal like the rain itself. :D **

**The set of Shippuden in English dub released many months ago FINALLY had me seeing Itachi Shinden, brought me to tears. It made me decide I was going to finally bring this final entry in the Night Flowers saga to life; high time it was finished, but there were more stories unrelated in making; these have been completed over the last several months: the Itachi/Hanaru tale "The Ronin and the Emperor's Daughter", along with "Mummy Lover" (ItaSaku, past SasuSaku), as well as "The Pink Hair" and "A Fragile Blue Rose" (both in the Konoha Kaidan Trilogy), and now "The Gutsy Jinchuuriki". I've been busy as usual. XD**

**Disclaimer: I own only Hanaru (except she really is the creation of my best friend); the other characters of Naruto are property of Kishimoto-sensei. **

Chapter One

Shower in Two Forms

_"What are you talking about, Itachi? What brought on this decision of yours to leave the Black Ops I worked my tail off to get you in?" _

_"It was a choice I had plenty of time to think over. You know I'm wed now, so it's logical that I leave the operations for her sake and any children we have. You would have done the same for us and Mother. We live in times of peace now, and the Uchiha are in a decent enough place as it is," he finished, taking a breath through his newly repaired lungs - well, one untouched from his battle with Hidan, the other sewn back by Tsunade's ingenious hands - and looked his father square in the eyes. _

_Fugaku's face was ever lined tightly, but he got where his son was going. "Yes, you are right about this. But let's hope that this isn't going to haunt you when you wake up and look at yourself in the mirror every morning -"_

_"This _won't _be a regret," Itachi interrupted. "I'm making the right choice. Imagine what my death would have done to her, or if I was crippled for life. Our child would have been burdened with an invalid for a father. It would have all been my fault, and I can now prevent it. I'm going to become a teacher unless you have any complaints about that, Father."_

~o~

Getting married to the woman he loved was one miracle.

Expecting their first child was a miracle on a different level.

The woman he'd known much of his life, the one who broke records in never once joining a three-man Genin squad, never been in the Black Ops as he had, was a war hero like him, his cousin and brother as well as hers, and who was renowned for a technique which left a man's business black and blue - and those men cowering in fear if they antagonized her. The one who softened the heart of the hardened child of war, on another level from his _otouto._ She was at the top of the universe with him until death did they part.

This morning was relaxing and cloudy, the weather humid. He reclined in his chair, steaming cup of tea in hand as he looked out at the lake which shimmered pearly gray, the flowers bright within the gloom in shades of silver and violet. This was the morning he loved waking to: comfort and warmth.

Although halfway through his temperamental wife's pregnancy, those peaceful mornings would be broken by her screams of demand as well as soon as he got home for the day. He gulped when he thought of her threats to smash his balls until they were nothing but shriveled sacks if he didn't give her the food she craved, do the chores she asked him to do, or even massage every aching part of her body.

Once he got punched to the middle of his abdomen, where he had his surgery over a year ago. He was incredibly lucky he was completely healed by that time. They didn't need Tsunade's wrath that her hard work had been reopened for her hands alone. Despite her youthful henge, she wasn't the spring chicken she used to be. And Sakura had _her _hands full these days as it was.

Now was the early days of summer, and the baby was due in a few weeks. He was excited for this to be over, but he was also anxious about becoming a father for the first time.

_It feels so good to be retired from the Black Ops - thanks to her. _

Itachi Uchiha finally brought the steaming cup to his lips. He made it himself, since these days and especially in the final term, his wife was asleep until early afternoon. She was a crazed animal when she was awoken without permission, and he wasn't going to have blackened scrotum any day. Although her hormones had gone down a little since they were getting closer and closer to the actual day. The baby was said to arrive a week exactly before his or her Uncle Sasuke's birthday.

Since the announcement of the pregnancy, his brother and Hanaru's started a whole new competition on a less hostile note: who would be the BEST uncle for the baby? It was Hana-chan who said this was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard, and Itachi couldn't agree more.

The gray clouds parted to show a little sunlight, chancing rain shower with a little cheer. The forecast could be the same tomorrow, which was none other than the baby shower. The first little splatters of water hit that window before his eyes in a few moments to pass. _We need all the nourishment we can get. When night falls, there are going to be fireworks - if the weather still permits. _Summer was the time for fireworks and flora. He and Hanaru had made sure their gardens and grounds were at their best for the people of the Leaf to come and admire. The grounds of the public parks were at their finest, from sunflowers to lavender, daisies, roses and on. The Yamanaka flower shop had their field days in summer more than spring, where things were still beginning to grow.

"More rain coming? That's the third time this week. I say we got lucky," his _koishii_ said when she joined him on the lounge, leaning against him, her head on his shoulder and making him smile.

"If you ask me, we need all the luck we can get," Itachi agreed, laying his lips on her forehead.

His free hand found its way to the firm growth of her belly; he had to wind up turning his eyes on to assess the child was doing well, but he couldn't see that it was male or female. An ultrasound was offered, but he and his beloved wanted to be surprised. As far as they were concerned, the gender was unimportant. He looked forward to having as many with her, no matter if boy or girl came first. In these times, their children would never know the horrors of war - but he'd thought that way about Sasuke when he'd been born, and yet it happened only later on in his baby brother's life.

_If only we can prevent it this time around, but it's out of our hands. _

Hanaru had her cup of tea with her and clinked it with his. "To a joyous day coming, _saiai_," she said, nuzzling her face into the exposed area where his neck and shoulder met. He sighed at the feeling the action produced. He hummed deep in his throat.

"Hn - to the most magnificent wife, and to this little one we made together," Itachi said, rubbing his palm over her belly. She giggled and almost dropped her cup to the floor.

"Don't make me punch you so early this morning, darling."

He chuckled darkly. "Punch me and I could pay you back for the threats you made long before then," he husked, breathing hotly against her neck, his body stirring already as it had been ever since they stopped making love when her fifth month began. Fourth month had her hormones so out of control that she _promised _to cut his manhood AND his balls off if he didn't take her everywhere they ended up. It was both a nightmare and a dream come true. Then it became a smaller way to quench any unnecessary arousal drives, because he remembered among the Uchiha, it was normal for a man to seek comfort elsewhere while his wife was expecting. He loved her too much to do something so low.

Thankfully, Hanaru answered that question by reaching under the covers at night for him before they went to sleep. That also meant changing the bedsheets and cleaning them right away. She could have ingested if she wanted to, but she was nervous the semen would hurt the baby. He never heard of such a thing, and she was too embarrassed to ask Sakura's opinion.

"Okay, let's not fool around so I can sup you up for the day," Hanaru said, taking a few heavy gulps until there was nothing left. "Don't want to keep the kids waiting."

The kids - she meant her Chuunin waiting. All three of them made that rank earlier this year, and he was proud of them just as she was. To see all three make it on the same time, others not and with a chance later this year, was rewarding. He took them on since his wife went on leave as soon as she found out she was pregnant. Being out there risked loss of the child; she, at first, was disappointed but relented. That didn't mean her three students couldn't come and see her anytime, and she was present when she watched their final matches at the stadium.

The very same spot they watched their brothers make Chuunin.

_Someday we watch our children down there. _The thought made him smile.

~o~

Sometimes she wished her mother was here so that she could have guided her daughter through pregnancy stages. Instead, she had her girl friends, her mother-in-law and her physician. As well as her poor husband - who was subjected to her hormonal rages - her brother and brother-in-law. They were all here. _And Mom and Dad are watching from somewhere; I know it. _

She really thought she was going to kill Itachi over the littlest things! Her man, the father of her child - over something he had no control over. She thought she would kill herself.

Lately, it had been raining, providing nourishment to the life ever growing. She loved every season in different ways: spring because it was all about love and growth, summer because it was about fun and happiness, autumn for the color of the leaves, and winter because while it was cold and deathly, it was pristine and pure...and fun to play in when the weather wasn't murderous. The last of them being held in Itachi's arms by the warm fire he would get going by hand, both falling asleep before it.

Spring was the time they consummated and then wed. The happiest days of their lives - just like when he proposed to her before winter began.

Summer would be when their first child was born. They'd be lucky if it was raining again, because it was a good luck sign. Sure, it was foul-looking, but they needed it.

The next day, the shower was held atop Hokage Tower, and the gifts that were opened were wonderful. The baby received a few rare stuffed animals you didn't see anywhere else - and one of them was a genuine monkey in the Hokage hat and robes, courtesy of Konohamaru - as well as a blanket sewn with the white-and-red fan of the Uchiha. Others included a _breast pump _that made her face turn redder than the tomato color of her late mother's hair. Because there were important people who had to swallow down their laughter for her sake. She had to list them off in her head, avoiding looking them in the eyes:

Kakashi, who else? Just like him to nervously chuckle and lose the right words to say.

Poor old man Jiraiya, Tsunade with him.

Sasuke, her brother-in-law she sometimes got along with. And of course, her brother was so pink that he was fighting to not fall off his feet, laughing his ass off if Hinata wasn't there for him.

Her in-laws; it was a nice change to see stern Fugaku show a hint of amusement while his wife was stifling her laughter with her hand.

Shisui was going to get a "third time's the charm" strike to where it hurt most if he said one thing about her getting such a gift.

And her husband was chuckling, shaking his head and telling her it was wonderful, nevertheless. "At least you have something useful, flower," he said tenderly, pecking her brow at the same time as the clouds began to darken, telling them all it was going to rain soon. At least it was perfect timing, for all the gifts from friends and family were worthwhile.

Who gave her the breast pump? It was Lady Tsunade, none other.

**Good God, it was such fun to do the shower. XD I appreciate reviews for this conclusion of the Night Flowers Saga from now to the very end. **


	2. Diamond in the Rough

**We'll be going on THREE YEARS of my journey with so many Naruto stories, beginning with this happy couple, when we reach the end of November. Though I have to admit that back then I was ravished internally with the intensity of ItaHana, but in terms of romance in general life, I haven't good times. :( Therefore I sometimes feel restrained when it comes to romantic chemistry, as well as the intimate acts themselves. Add in the fact that dark romance itself (but not between Itachi and his woman) is being subjected to controversial discussions when a pigheaded old prude - which happened to me when it came to writing for Kim Possible/Monkey Fist back then - tells you that it's a RAPE instead of something natural and special between two people. No matter how exciting it feels to you. That's why I proceed with more caution and struggling to hold onto myself when I continue to do what I do best. **

Chapter Two

Diamond in the Rough

"I'm so tired!" She collapsed onto the lounge when they arrived back to the house. All she wanted to do now was close her eyes and dream away, but they had to put away the new gifts for the baby. She wished she could get Tsunade for this: for embarrassing her in front of all those men, including her brother, brother-in-law and father-in-law, and so on.

And of course, her husband who was chuckling when he took it in. "Well, look at it this way, love: she did you a useful favor. And at least I'll be there to help you," he drawled, eyes smoldering when they fell to her breasts, which had swelled more than they used to be, heavy with milk. She put both hands over them and turned her back, pouting. "Now, you're not mad at me, are you, my sweet one?" Itachi asked, sounding mock-hurt, as he trailed after her with a few of the gift packages beneath his arms.

Hanaru paused and turned back to him, sticking her lower lip at him. "You know I could never be mad at you for long, but you owe me one thing which is...exactly what you promised me," she said slyly, striding past him and going outside to get the other packages that were brought to be placed on the top of the porch steps.

The rain had stopped by this time, leaving everything smelling fresh, and the sun was peeking out of the clouds by only a fraction. _I love the smell of fresh summer rain. _

She stretched her back and groaned a little when her muscles relaxed and her back loosened its stiff posture. "Well, I think now that that's done, how about I go and make dinner?" she asked when she saw him taking a few packages into the room they set up for the baby.

"Now that you said it, I'm hungry as a wolf," Itachi said. "But don't overexert yourself."

Hanaru rolled her eyes, though he couldn't see her. Overprotective husband she had, but that was what she wanted in that man. Someone who loved her the way she was, respected her wishes, and whom she would stick with through thick and thin. Parent and child bonds were strong, but the one between husband and wife was body and soul for generations to come. She'd been with him when he suffered in his eyes as well as his body when he was on his final ANBU Black Ops mission. She'd feared his brother would lose his sight forever - until after the procedure, she learned that it was a cross-transplant. Which meant both of them made it, but her husband was discharged the day before the wedding.

_No more secretive missions. _

_No more fearing something will happen to him._

_No more being in his father's shadow. _

But that meant no more him hunting down anyone from the Akatsuki, since there were a handful left. Except there was one the Leaf Village really wanted gone most of all, while Orochimaru was still on lockdown. Kabuto Yakushi was rumored to be on his own, but no one caught him yet. He was just like his master before him: slithering like a snake in and out of the midst. If she saw either of them, she would take the right hand herself, but not right now when she was like this.

The blanket, stuffed animals - her breast pump - and everything was put away in no time. Now she was making them both a nice, heavy but simple dinner of mushroom soup, a grilled vegetarian dish, finished with all kinds of _dango _for dessert. Sweets were her most crazed craving in her entire pregnancy; sometimes she would have those sweet balls IN miso soup! One time, her _saiai_ caught her eating it, and she could have sworn his face turned green with disgust, but he didn't say a word if he knew what was good for him.

"Delicious," he told her when they were done eating. He gracefully slurped down the last of his soup and put it atop his plate. "As always."

"Thank you. Is there anything else I can get you, darling?"

Itachi smirked as he watched her stand up. "Well, there is something I should do for you, since you've made this fine meal. Hard work should always pay off." He stood up from his kneeling position behind the table, picking up his dishes and following her into the kitchen.

Hanaru grinned back at him, setting the dishes down into the sink, but before she could bend down to find the soap to squish in, he stopped her. "Let me do all of this for you. Why don't you go into the bedroom and wait for me?" he husked against her ear, breath hot on her skin and making her nerves tingle delightfully. Shuddering, she acquiesced and slipped away from him, waddling on her feet because that was what she did nowadays. Sometimes she was ready for this kid to pop out so that life was normal again. She wanted to go back to the field, though that still meant their child needed both parents in its life.

Pausing around the doorway, she watched her handsome, vigorous husband with his back to her as he turned on the hot water and got to work. This kind of man a woman needed: someone who washed the dishes for her after she spent her time by the stove. And that long hair ever in its ponytail, his broad shoulders, slim hips and his ass accentuated by the pants...

Her hormones weren't what they used to be, not since they went crazy before the fifth month. Looking at her man's behind didn't stir them inopportune. Not even when her hand worked its magic on his manhood when he was aroused against wishes.

Though what about now? All she could tell was that she was excited due to the one thing on her mind. That first time they went at it exploded into a constant frenzy every time they ended up here at the end of each day. It began that way not only with the spring night a month before their wedding, nor with the morning after, but later that day when Itachi was assigned on that fateful mission which nearly cost him his life; he'd brought up the need to conceive their first child in case something happened to him. Desperate times they were. It was a good thing they weren't obligated based on it, and the troubles were all worth it.

Safely in the bedroom, Hanaru slipped out of her clothes and chose the silk slip that matched her skin color, which was her favorite one and also her husband's. It happened to expand for her bulging belly, thank the gods. She managed to get underneath the blankets and relaxed, waiting for her man to come and join her.

And there he was, coming in and removing his shirt - but when it rode upwards, she saw the scars on his abdomen, where the muscles were scarred permanently despite Tsunade's genius hands. Though it added to his earthly radiance instead of being a hideous imperfection.

"Brings back plenty of wonderful memories, my little _koishii_," he said, sliding underneath from the end, up and over her, the blanket covering them both. "All those times we went at each other like rabbits in the fields, starting right here, then out there in the bamboo grove..."

~o~

_He turned her on, turned her into a wanton little minx in a matter of moments. But it was she who started it last night, so it was obvious who was to blame. He snickered to himself as he gently took the throbbing vein at the base of her neck between his teeth, causing her to hiss like a cat in heat. His other hand moved down to cup the underside of the breast there, feeling how aroused he was making her. She wasn't aware he was fully nude yet, but she would see again soon. Itachi now brought both hands over the front of her body and lowered them to rest over her abdomen, where they would soon create life together. He didn't need to ask if she wanted more; he took his time peeling away her sweet clothes which left some assets to the imagination whilst he took in the tasteful outlines of the important parts that defined her as female. _Everything is all mine.

_He turned her around so she faced him, the red-orange sun covering bared flesh with a warm, delicious hue of amber and shooting rays through the small forest of bamboo surrounding them. The smell of the array of candles, consisting of water flowers notably, reached their senses. Below his waist, Itachi tingled with desire for this woman he would give his life for as he would sacrifice himself for the entire village. _

_The couple shared another deep locking of the lips, gently nibbling each other's lips and twining tongues together, hands caressing muscles and sensitive areas, exploring more territory they might not have discovered the previous night. Until Itachi could wait no longer and took the initiative. _

_"Come, Hana-chan," he grunted, hoisting her up into his arms and carrying her into the wild so they could begin night one of conception. _

~o~

"Which was my fault," Hanaru said when she looked deep into those onyx eyes which made her cheeks pink but burned them to a hundred degrees. His body slid down her again, his muscles smooth against her legs, and his entire head covered by the blanket.

She yelped when she felt his _tongue _swipe against the top outer line of her sex, causing that part to tingle like a network coming to life by a simple push of the button. Then onward to the sides until she was twitching uncontrollably and growling for more. "As you command, Lady Hanaru." _That title for the lady of the household - and belongs to only him. _Itachi then pressed a kiss on that spot without going further in, inhaling her subtle feminine musk as well as the strong perfume of her arriving syrup. "Mm-hmm." His humming was an aphrodisiac in itself. His nose and mouth gently nuzzled her blonde pubes.

"Right here, where we joined...and where our child will come."

"ITACHI!" She squirmed, causing her heavy breasts to sway side to side; she could hear the milk splashing in them. Darkly, he snickered and rested his mouth against her again.

He returned the phrase she gave him the very first time she treated him the way he was doing so to her: "Sing for me, my luscious Sensei." His tongue slipped out, breaking down her wall and taking her off-guard as he licked the bud protruding between her folds, sending her into electroshocks. _Damned good ones!_ And then he slid his entire mouth, spreading her open, so he could take her all the way in to lick and drink down her source of pleasure. Grunting, Hanaru clenched the sheets beneath her, her knees turning into gel as her legs wobbled, closing onto his head between them.

She growled down at him, at what he was doing to her, which didn't endanger their baby. "You _baka_, I ought to get you for this. You're still so good even when we...haven't...done this much lately."

She was at the peak of her orgasm, frustratingly, when he paused to answer her. There was the sound of a light smack, which meant he was licking his lips. "Well, my precious, know that this is important only because it shows how much we still have each other even if the little one comes in. And at least I will still be able to make you scream when I am finished with you."

And scream she did, making the walls shake and the glass windows to screech but not crack.

~o~

Next day was clear, with some white clouds, and the air was moist and humid. Hanaru said her brother and Hinata were going to come over because they had something to tell them before they would break it to anyone else. He had an idea and smirked.

_About time you did it, Naruto. I just hope Hiashi Hyuuga didn't give you too much of a hard time...or if you thought to ask him beforehand. _

"Alright, everything is ready!" Hanaru said happily as she set up the table for lunch. "Ichiraku ingredients on the stove, thanks to old man Teuchi's help last time I volunteered that day to aid him while his daughter was on leave, just like I am." Ayame went and got married, and in the final term of her pregnancy, she was lying in and not being on her feet due to them swelling, which Hanaru had suffered a fair few times.

"You're lucky, my dear, that Teuchi-san trusts you with his secret recipe to your brother's life sustenance," Itachi told her with a smirk as he stood over the stove, inhaling the lush aroma of pork and miso. Already, his stomach growled.

Hanaru scolded him when she saw him over there. "Itachi Uchiha, you'd better not go ahead and dig in before our guests come! Naruto will _barrage _your body!"

"Not at all, but I will up and take one of these instead of your brother's favorite." With that, he chose to pick up one of the tri-colored sticks she made by her hand since the morning broke, and she shrieked like the harpy she was during the entirety of the pregnancy, slapping his hand away. "Ow, that hurt!"

"As it should, you bad boy. You're not getting a treat until the real meal is over," she said with a sharp nod of finality and turned her back on him just as the door was knocked on, telling them the guests of the hour had finally arrived.

"_NEE-CHAN! _BROTHER-IN-LAW!"

"Naruto, you had better not squeeze me or the baby and kill both of us in that monstrous grip of yours," Hanaru warned as she did the honors before he could, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and drawing him into the house, with the beautiful pearl-eyed woman trailing after hm.

Hinata had never looked so radiant, that shine in her pure irises evident in his suspicions. "I haven't seen this place since you both moved in. It's just as I remembered, or have I really missed something?" she asked.

Itachi laughed. "No, nothing has changed, but we have finished setting up the baby's room."

"Glad to know, and that it won't be long now," Naruto hooted, running his hand over his sister's protruding abdomen, where his niece or nephew was sleeping in wait. Then he sniffed the air, eyes bulging. "Oi, my ramen! Hana-nee, you're the best!"

Now, isn't peace a fantastic way to live, though sometimes you needed the adrenaline? This Itachi hardly had time for, but here he had it because his _koi_, his _aoibara_, made him leave the Black Ops with the threat to his masculinity: his wife, their first child on the way, enjoying a meal in the middle of the day with his brother-in-law and his woman. And that was when, as soon as the noodles were gone and the sweets exchanged, Hinata extended her hand to show IT.

_A brilliant natural diamond on a delicate, snowy band. That is a treasure pulled straight from the earth. _

"We're getting married!" the Hyuuga heiress said, rubbing her eyes with both hands now and trying not to cry too much. "I never thought it would happen! And Father actually said yes...but he and Naruto had the talk while I had to wait outside." Her lower lip trembled, but she forced it to stop.

"I told you, _otouto_," Hanaru told him, slapping his back and making him wince a little, but it wasn't like the ones Sakura used to give him when they were Genin.

It was then that there was knocking on the door - rapid and desperate. "Oh, what could that be?" Hanaru snarled impatiently.

"I'll take care of it. You all stay here," Itachi said, standing up and stretching before walking out of the kitchen for the front door. When he opened it, there was none other than his wife's Chuunin - just brother and sister - but currently, they were his until she delivered.

"Whatever is the matter?" he asked, and Misaki Kimura was the one to pipe up.

"Lord Hokage said to tell you and Hanaru-sensei that...Orochimaru escaped from the correctional!"

**So that flashback Hana-chan had was from the second chapter of "Bamboo Woods". :3 I don't know how I managed, but when I did that moment, I had a hormonal charge in a certain part that helped me make it the way it should!**

**(blushes tomato red) Maybe I shouldn't have brought up such a private thing. **

**Well, anyhoo: Orochimaru escaped prison. :O Now there will be hell to pay. **


	3. Orchard Bath

**Nobody reviewed. :'( I don't even know why since this is the final in a series, and I have done so much not only for this pairing, but for everyone else. **

Chapter Three

Orchard Bath

_Orochimaru escaped._

These three young Shinobi whom he was all too proud to teach in his wife's stead came to tell him news that ruined a perfect time, though it was no fault of theirs. And in contrast to Naruto and Hinata's new engagement, this chaotically turned their world in a new direction, and it was going to hit Hanaru as soon as she heard this -

\- though it turned out he spoke too soon, for it was like her sensitive ears to pick up. "You guys mean to say that _snake got out when we had him locked up for good?!_"

"Sis, calm down!" Naruto exclaimed, coming to her side. She'd waddled in to hear the news, faster than usual in her condition, and he followed her. Hinata was not far behind, worried and pondering the worst that could happen on her part. Then Naruto's face twisted, growling through his teeth. "So, that bastard got out like Mizuki long before him! Like servant, like master, that's what it is!"

"You took the words out of my mouth, Naruto-kun," Hinata agreed, scowling with him now, before asking the Chuunin what else there was.

Daichu sniffed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "It's believed Kabuto the rat got him out, but they're still looking into it. And wasn't that guy reaching his host limit the last time we checked? He ought to have died in prison like we wanted, for all we cared."

Indeed, the young man was on the mark. The Snake Sannin was sentenced to life imprisonment, and you would have thought the new security upgrades would have done the trick. That left two theories: Kabuto, or a breach in the security that Orochimaru must have played a hand in from within; that, or someone else supported his deeds and freed him.

Either way, someone had to finish that snake off if his pinpoint was on the mark.

"He might be searching for his new body by now," Misaki said, her face red as her hair now and her features twisting. "I'm gonna damn him to the lowest pits of hell than he is already at now for whoever he picks!"

~o~

He was locked up after she had been saved that one time.

Itachi had his chance to kill him for everything - her and those poor experiments of his - but it was like her husband to loathe spilling blood no matter if there was a time he wanted to...but he _should _have with that damned snake. Now that she really thought about it.

_I was counting on him to die in that cell. It's no less than he deserved. Wither in his skin until there is nothing but bones and dust. _

Hanaru remembered everything when she was in her month-long captivity before her future husband, her brother, then-Genin and backup came to her aid: her bodily samples containing her chakra, that one time the serpent's tongue licked her _menstrual blood_ and she almost sent him across the room, Kabuto threatening her for disrespecting his master...all those men undergoing something meant for the women only...and finally, her becoming a candidate. That meant her Uzumaki DNA wasn't enough, but then he saw her useful in being a womb donor.

Was he going to pick up on those grotesque explorations?!

She should have not gotten into this, because stress wasn't good for the baby, and that was what she and Itachi got into when Naruto and Hinata were gone before the late afternoon ended. But none of them counted on this happening, not even Misaki and Daichu coming to tell them - and with good intentions, in which they felt both their senseis deserved to know - this disaster, but then again, she sometimes hated her selective hearing.

"Don't tell me to calm down."

"Hanaru, I wouldn't dream of it since I know you too well, but still -"

She interrupted him harshly, scrubbing the dishes with a frenzy. Anything to try and take her mind off of all this. "Well, what are you gonna do to make sure I don't really break someone to pieces?" she snapped.

Itachi came to stand beside her. "Yes, that is precisely what I intend to do. Not to demean you because you are carrying our child -" She stiffened when his hand came to rest flat on her belly. "- but fretting so much will put you both at risk. I won't allow that on my watch. At least calm down. I'll do everything in my power to see it doesn't come to snatching you again," he swore, leaning in to kiss her left temple. She shivered at his affectionate, patient touch.

Itachi's lips and caresses were all it took to calm her down - most of the time. It could only do so much when she was under extreme duress, like right now. _Please, Kami, don't let him come and torment US again...or anytime soon. If he does, then please kill him. _

She tried to distract herself with not only her loving husband, but the wonderful news that was her brother and Hinata who was now her future sister-in-law. It was a cause to celebrate - and Naruto really picked well with that ring! - with some drinks afterwards, though it wound up being a means to soothe the nerves. Unfortunately for Hanaru, she had to have something softer since she was pregnant. That meant the peach juice she made herself.

"Itachi," she said finally, leaning the back of her head into his shoulder, "I want that bastard dead before he does anything. And since we had an agreement about you settling down, I hope Hokage-sama doesn't send you out again to do the deed, even though I know you can do it."

Someone like Shisui, but not her husband. Or maybe she was being way too protective of him.

Itachi said nothing to that, but this: "Hn."

Hanaru frowned a little at the way he said that. _Itachi, are you hiding something from me?_

~o~

He couldn't reply back to her because of the thoughts going through his brain. He couldn't worry her or have her fly into her rages.

He made through on his vow to never endanger himself for the sake of their child coming into the picture, especially for her. But now he was thinking about this at the moment: _I said killing him was too easy, but now I regret my mistake. He was there, and I should have done it then. Anyone could have finished him off if not me, but I had him after..._

Never would Itachi forget that moment when his _koishii_ decked the Snake Sannin in a certain place that you never would have expected of Orochimaru, and he never thought he would at the time. It was one of the finest memories, and she would have done it again if she wasn't with child. On second thought, the picture was amusing: the legendary Explosive Force busting the pair of one of the greatest rogue ninjas in Konoha's history while pregnant.

Itachi found himself chuckling loud enough for her to hear when they were at the dinner table. He had to do something with their evening to push aside the bad news, and that meant something his mother gave him, which his father used on her both times whenever she was with her sons.

"What's so funny, Itachi-kun?" she asked, raising an eyebrow over the cooling cup of tea, stroking her belly from the top at the same time.

"Nothing much," he replied, "but I was remembering a certain day. A day which added to my realization of...how much you were the woman for me, after all those years."

That eyebrow was joined by its companion. "Oh?"

"And it was when you took down that snake the way you did."

Her eyes flashed with the memory, proud that she won him over like that along with everything else. Just as he was proud to have her since she was not like other women. His father, despite being strict, did say once that you didn't find a girl like that every day in a generation. "Would you like it if I did it again, if I wasn't in my condition?" Hanaru nodded down at the source of her condition for emphasis.

Oh, that would be the day, indeed. That was one way to lighten up the evening - and in time for the rain to start at night and hopefully aid with the relaxation they earned.

This set consisted of the candle which gave off the aroma throughout the bathing area. _An orchard of different fruits to choose from._ There his beloved wife was in her favorite ivory kimono for the evening, and he watched as she turned her back to him, then worked to untie the sash and let it fall from her body. There was that graceful arch of a back, her heart-shaped rear end, and everything shapely, though in front would be the fullness marred by pregnancy, not that it repulsed him. Every inch of the ivory canvas he was familiar with was for his eyes that he no longer needed his Sharingan to imprint. She leaned her head back a little and rolled her shoulders, the sound of bones in the blades popping reaching his ears. Itachi subconsciously reached out and laid his palm flat in the middle of her back, caressing the skin and then tracing the outline of her spine. The action made her shudder and remain in place.

Itachi spent the evening, listening to the rain pelting the window, sitting on one end of the smooth, wooden tub and behind Hanaru's head while he worked his magic. The smell traveled from the bathwater suds as well as the candle in the window, to even the gel he lathered across her back and shoulders; her skin was not only slippery and silken from his ministrations, but it was also like kneading bread to put into the oven...and that was when a certain phrase came to mind which meant what they were expecting VERY soon. He felt his cheeks flush maybe not just from the slightly steaming water alone.

Hanaru leaned back again and closed her eyes, occasionally opening them again to look deep into his eyes, the blue irides heavy and glazed with tire yet gratitude and love. Her arms had been folded across her stomach, now sliding down to rest on the sides, and back up to lay themselves on either side of the tub's rim. _You look like you're ready to go to sleep already...and so am I._

That moment was when he had a glimpse over her shoulder, stirring in the pit of his stomach at the sight of her breasts shining from the water and having some white soap suds clinging to them, even covering one nipple. For a moment, he considered massaging both breasts, but decided against it. Respect, he reminded himself, not personal desire.

He yawned with her by the time they were both done - and he ended up sharing a bath with her, without anything getting wild - and heading to bed together, her back against him so that he could spend the time running his hand over her belly. He even turned his Sharingan on so he could assess the child's well-being, seeing that all was well. He was amazed that with Uchiha and Uzumaki power combined, they would make a powerful Shinobi one day.

Though, he prayed that when Naruto became Hokage, things would change, and children could choose whether or not to become ninja - and that included his and Hanaru's, as well as her brother's and Hinata's. _And Sasuke and Sakura's, if they ever get serious enough to wed. _

The rain pattering against the panes helped him and his flower slumber peacefully, no nightmares haunting.

A few days of peace came and went, and while he supervised the training of Hanabi and her teammates, there came a time when the Hyuuga had to voice to him how she felt about her sister marrying her sensei's brother. "I knew it all along, and that means since we'll be related, I give her all the flak I can, like she points out," Hanabi declared, hands on hips and chin raised, making him chuckle. "That also means I'll have stories to tell your son or daughter!"

"I'm sure you will."

She also invited him and Hanaru-sensei to the engagement party that was being planned at the moment, and that would also mean the wedding could be set before the upcoming harvest season was over. There was so much to do, so little time. But he could not say no, not surprised that he and Hanaru would have been invited anyway since Hiashi-sama was grateful for her mentoring one daughter and being the best friend of another - and towards Itachi, too. Despite the Hyuuga and Uchiha long being at each other's throats.

However, the peaceful mood was dampened when he noted that he and the young trio were being watched; he decided they would be well without him since they were grown up enough to not depend on him or Hanaru. He recognized the presence as his cousin. He smiled when he turned his head in the direction of the trees, then turning his attention back to Hanabi and her teammates, telling them he would be back soon.

"You really make a better teacher than most," Shisui joked when they crouched up in the trees, supervising the scene which was none other than Misaki and Hanabi pitted against each other: Wind Bomb Jutsu against Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation. Had they'd been near a water location at the present, he would have seen them take it to the extremes. But he knew how strong these girls were. "The wife was right to make you leave the Ops, especially with a baby on the way." His eyes lit up at the prospect of having a niece or nephew coming into the picture, and that meant being the one to teach him or her to renege against parental guidance once in a while just for the fun of it.

Itachi could only smile, agreeing with him, but then the atmosphere shifted instantly when he became aware this couldn't be a social call, and Shisui affirmed, sighing sharply.

"Yeah, I wish this was at a better timing, but it couldn't wait. I'm not supposed to divulge more than this, since Lord Hokage insisted I confide in only YOU, but one of our own has been reported missing while we were out there, searching for Orochimaru after his breakout from the correctional...and it was Sai."

Itachi's blood fell cold at the monstrous possibility that he couldn't bring himself to mention.

**Stay tuned for the next chapter. Reviews appreciated in the meantime. **


	4. Slithering Snake in the Midst

**Since lots of shit will happen in here, that means the good stuff will proceed as "The Winds of Spring" and "Bamboo Woods". Length isn't important, but what HAPPENS. **

Chapter Four

Slithering Snake in the Midst

She really felt like walking out and about while her man and the kids were busy; she really needed to stop calling them "kids" since they'd grown so much. So, here she was, and in her maternity dress which was her favorite color of royal blue. When this kid was out, she couldn't wait to get back into shape, but that meant a few months or so of letting her chakra take time in restoring to full power. When Kushina was pregnant the first time, the same thing happened to her, and there had been the risk of the Kyuubi getting out due to the seal weakening; that was the chakra being transferred to the unborn, which was the result of Hanaru and Naruto having the fox-like whiskers on their cheeks. Though she recovered faster than three or four months' time which was the norm for a pregnant _kunoichi_.

Uzumaki chakra meant faster recovery than usual, so perhaps Hanaru Uchiha could get lucky as her mother was.

One thing she hated was not being active, though Tsunade and Sakura both instructed her to get enough exercise which didn't mean sparring. And walking was close enough for her, so that was what she was doing. She planned to stop by her in-laws' today, despite the hot day it was going to be. Her intentions: today was a good time, unplanned but necessary, to start breaking formality barriers with Fugaku, her father-in-law.

She was on great terms with her mother-in-law, who had been Kushina's best friend when she was still alive. Though with her husband's father, they hadn't yet clicked despite being family now. She found herself walking up the pathway from her and Itachi's lakeside to the estate further up the distance which was still close to the water. She was so glad her feet weren't swollen in the final month; that meant she could walk whenever she wanted to. And without her overprotective _saiai_ with her for a change.

Last time she walked alone even for a few supplies, that provoked a heated debate that had her angry and emotional which made her worried their marriage would be on the rocks just because of this. All of it was on her part instead of his.

Sometimes she hated having these emotional outbursts. That was why she herself was called the Explosive Force, and not just because of her fist technique.

She found her mother-in-law in the gardens, surrounded by bright yellow daffodils - _symbols of respect_ \- as well as white daisies for faith, finished with large white lilies for purity and vivid orange ones...though she was hesitant to think about THEIR meaning, which was negative in every aspect. Except Mikoto loved them purely for their cheery color, and Hanaru herself thought of her brother. She busied herself by taking in white ones with inner red linings and others outlined with penciled rosy edges. _Positive outweighing the negative - just what we need!_

And finally there were roses: these vigorous yellow beauties blushing with ruby red edges and giving off a spicy perfume.

The gardener herself glanced up from taking weeds out; the pile was perhaps as high as the plucker's length from knee to hip. She looked up upon hearing the footsteps approaching; Hanaru couldn't get over the sight of the hat adorning her mother-in-law's head, and she suppressed a giggle. "Hanaru, good day!" Mikoto said, eyes shining.

"And to you, Mikoto-san -"

"Oh, we're family, so don't worry about those damned formalities when it is just you and me!" Well, wasn't that good or what? Itachi and Sasuke's mother starting the comfort zone. But there was another where everything depended on it...

"Well, then, is Fugaku home? I wanted to see you both today, just because."

The dark-haired woman stood up and dusted her hands on her knees. Dirty brown smeared against the white of her apron. She was still smiling as she took her hat off her head. "That's nice, and I was hoping when we would have each other time again. That baby shower wasn't enough!" Mikoto burst out laughing at the memory of the presentation of the breast pump before all their eyes.

It just so happened that Fugaku was home, and he looked to be sweating his high tail off. Hanaru suppressed a whistle at the sight of him in that thin, sleeveless wifebeater so that he could breathe. Seldom did she ever see him away from the force, and this was one of those days. He was at the island which consisted of the bar as well as the portrait of the Uchiha fan beyond, which was flanked by incense. He was enjoying himself some good sake because of this weather, or maybe just because. His wife clicked her tongue at this. "Oh, Fugaku, getting drunk when a guest has just arrived!" she scolded, going up to him and taking the cup from him just as he was about to take a swig, and he grunted.

"A guest coming at the wrong - oh, Hanaru. It's just you." Didn't sound like he had one too many, but she had no idea if that was his second or just his first. "What brings you here today?"

"She's just here to visit us and enjoy our company, and she's come a good way to be turned back now," Mikoto answered for her.

Hanaru walked up, sitting down on her knees atop the tatami mat which was before the bar, and the couple before her joined, Fugaku doing his best to tame himself in place. "I see Sasuke isn't here." Which didn't surprise her, meaning he was either with Naruto or he was just at work and not yet having time for his friends or even his girlfriend at the hospital.

"No, he's hardly home anymore, as you know," Fugaku stated, clearing his throat and straightening up. "In fact, he's overworking again. I keep telling that boy he doesn't have to do this. I know he doesn't have to prove himself anymore. But I swear it's like he...I have no idea." There was a trace of slight guilt on his face, as if he were dwelling on the past when he often compared his youngest son to his eldest.

"Maybe if he wants to do his own thing, then just let him," Hanaru chose to boldly say, which earned no change of expression.

Fugaku considered what she said and lowered his eyes, much to her surprise. "You're right about that. But enough about Sasuke; how are you doing - or the both of you?" he added with a shift to the large roundness in the middle of her body. Smiling, Hanaru lifted both hands and placed them beneath her belly.

"We're just fine, and your son gave me the orchard treatment last night."

It was priceless to see their reactions: Fugaku chuckled and Mikoto stifling her giggles with the back of her hand. "That's my boy," her father-in-law said. "Hope he didn't give you any 'hard time'." And no mother wanted to imagine her son like that, which was exactly what his wife said.

Hanaru snorted. Things had gotten so interesting in her first few moments here. "Okay, you both didn't need to know that imagery," she said, laughing. "Just came here to spend time with my family while Itachi is off with my kids." If anyone else heard that, they would assume literally her biological children, not her students. Only her in-laws knew better.

"Intend to go back to them after you get your strength back, after you and Itachi work it out with the kid?" Fugaku asked her. She nodded.

"Maybe, but we decided that our son or daughter needs both parents instead of just one. I have no idea how we can make that work if I go back to teaching Genin. Or any future missions for the village."

So, that could also have been why she came here. It was a discussion meant for her and Itachi, but it didn't hurt to have more support systems, and she came to the ones. Her father-in-law had been against his son leaving the Black Ops, but eventually, he calmed down about it as preparations for the new baby began underway. The announcement of his first grandchild had started to really soften him up.

And there was his support when he and Mikoto got to telling her ideas of their own since the date was a few weeks away, followed by her mother-in-law's special tea and sweets she helped make. Even Fugaku could use something like that since it was his day off.

~o~

He connected with Sai because the younger one lost his brother, once loved and lost under Danzo's rule. That young man had been so sick that it spared Sai from killing him as a test of loyalty. _Which is what I had to do before I was admitted into the ANBU..._

...the fact Shisui told him because he deserved to know...

What made it worse was that Sai was ordered to leave the Black Ops on Hokage's orders, and he was about to get serious with Ino Yamanaka, but then he ended up vanishing during the hunt for Orochimaru. This Shisui also informed him of. Feeling hollow to his core, Itachi returned his attention back to the trio below who had ceased to take their break. The grounds weren't damaged severely, but had a crack here and there in the earth whilst the target posts were shattered to splinters. The girls had done it more than the lad did!

"Guess I should have just done what was right in keeping my mouth shut," Shisui noted, face falling. "Sometimes I forget myself."

"You did what you had to, but I don't know who is going to tell Yamanaka-san when she sees he hasn't come home," Itachi said, sounding distant to his own ears. _Sai...pray you haven't fallen where I think you are now..._

And he was NOT referring to abandoning them of his own will.

Shisui then shifted the topic and informed him that he saw his wife walking to his parents' place before he came here. "Guess she's gonna try again to get your dad to soften up some more," his cousin said jokingly, making him smile. "There aren't a lot of people who can make Fugaku smile the way she does. Except the day Sasuke was born."

The younger Uchiha couldn't stop smiling as he agreed, but then it was gone when he was once again informed that the Hokage also wanted a notice passed onto him: Kakashi-sama wanted him and the team to see him in his office...because of a mission request that didn't involve Orochimaru.

~o~

If this had been an ANBU mission, she would have flipped her usual bitch, and he would have gotten frustrated with her and lecture her that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, when they both knew what the Shinobi way was. She couldn't spend all her time worrying for him and the kids who still needed missions. It wasn't like she was THEIR mother.

Itachi was given an assignment along with Team Hanaru which was nothing more than guarding the daughter of a feudal lord as she was heading over to meet her intended, but she had an idea that it had to be anything but Orochimaru which was the Hokage's idea. Her husband was no longer in ANBU, so he could tell her about the details as they sat at the table that evening, the forecast being partly cloudy and with delicate pastel colors.

Her back was sore, so she needed his magic hands when dinner was over. It happened to be yellowtail snapper he picked up from the market before coming home and thought to prepare it for her, which made her happy since as soon as she got home from the in-laws', she decided to just sweep the floors - and wished there was a new invention that would pick the dust up better than the broom. She heard something about that in the making, but they were rumors only.

"Be safe, make sure they're safe, and be DAMNED sure to bring them back alive...along with yourself," were her words to him when he was done talking. _Hopefully things stay as they are, and no one attacks them..._

~o~

_How could this have happened?!_

Itachi Uchiha was many things, but getting captured wasn't on his list of mistakes and accomplishments.

It happened when he and Team Hanaru were on their way to meet with their clients outside the village borders. It was when they paused during the night before meeting the next morning with the daimyo's daughter and her attendants. Camp was set up near a great tree, given they were far from the nearest inn. At least, that was the plan if he hadn't taken guard to see if there were any enemy ninja in the vicinity.

There had been none; he didn't detect any chakra presences around...though he did assess a strange smoke in the air that began to spread throughout the air. It might have been smog or something, though it had no taste or smell, and the next thing Itachi knew, everything darkened - and now he woke up in different surroundings altogether.

The darkness and the cavern-like appearance was far too familiar. _Damn it, I was drugged! Whoever did it was far more brilliant than I, or I let my guard be lowered...no, that's not it. I NEVER let that happen to me._

What did it matter now? He had no idea where he was, but he intended to find out, and then think of how to get away - before a certain voice spoke over him. "You're finally awake, Itachi. And I thought too much had been given to you."

"...Kabuto."

"In the flesh," the treacherous medic answered, standing over him with a lantern in hand that radiated off his broad spectacles. "You weren't poisoned exactly, but given enough to travel for miles without detection or suspicion, and no trace to its owner at all. Surprised you didn't pick it up, the genius you are. It was one of my best, newest inventions yet."

_A sedative released into the air in aerosol form...ingenious, indeed. _He found that he couldn't move a muscle, which told him it left a partial-paralysis side effect upon coming back to awareness. He grimaced, lips drawing back as he forced himself to roll onto his back and glare up at his captor. "What now?"

Another voice penetrated the air, and it was the one the Hidden Leaf was hell-bent on searching for after his escape not many days ago.

"Itachi, Itachi - so many questions. But it is understandable you wish to know. I expected it."

Now he could spit out this one's name in particular. "Orochimaru. I didn't think we would meet again far too soon after your escape from your rightful fate," Itachi spat, looking up at the demon...and his appearance was the stuff of nightmares when he stepped out of the shadows.

Bandages covered the man's face, but the left side was partially unwrapped so you could see stark-white flesh as well as the malevolent yellow eye which regarded him in a certain way that he gave all his test subjects and potential hosts...and the way Hanaru described was targeted on her while she was in captivity. _Now I am in her position, damn it. _

There was something else, too: the black hair was far too short to be as the Uchiha recalled, which meant that...

"You got yourself a new body before I came here."

Orochimaru chuckled, movement visible in his mouth, though the bandages obscured the action save for the visible hillside motion. That gave him the answer he needed - as well as WHO the victim was, which sparked Itachi's rage a thousandfold. He tried to thrash, but his body's strength hadn't recovered yet. Damn it all to the lowest pits of hell!

"AND YOUR NEW VESSEL WAS _SAI!_"

**We all know Itachi is more POWERFUL than Orochimaru, so the major challenge was how to get him ensnared, given I had it planned since three years ago when I first began writing this series as well as Naruto in GENERAL. In those days, I had details planned which WILL make their way in here since the time has come. **

**Another issue was this: how do you make it different than how Orochimaru got Hanaru in "Night Flowers"? He had been in snake form and swallowed her whole, after being cut down by her future hubby and the bodily fluids paralyzing them all. **

**The credit goes to my dear friend Blue Kitsune, for the use of the gas Kabuto invented. :D **


	5. A Missing Weasel

**What to do...what to do... (puts finger to temple) **

**Really does call for what Itachi goes through in captivity before the big deal, and how long it lasts, doesn't it?**

Chapter Five

A Missing Weasel

His verbal lashing got a vicious beating from Kabuto for raising his voice and to several points of his body: his stomach, his back, and once to his face which sported a broken lip that bled a strip down his chin. He spat a little onto the floor. The color was a mocking match to his Sharingan.

"We had that of your wife when she was with us, so don't think I'll let you get away with it here," Kabuto spat down at him.

_And the number of abuses she took from _you_? It won't be compared to what I endured all my life. _And what he was feeling right now was enough to make him pass out, but he fought through and remained conscious. He focused his dark gaze on the medic with pure hatred, wondering why in hell he could be so loyal to someone like Orochimaru the jutsu-hungry body snatcher.

_Ino-san will be heartbroken and devastated when she learns what became of her potential lover. Curse you, Orochimaru, for destroying not one more life, but _two!

"Now, Kabuto, must you always be hard on our guests when they first arrive?" The snake man clicked his tongue and shook his head. "My, my. If only you were a young one again so I can give you a good lecture on treatment."

Itachi smirked painfully in amusement at the spectacled man's scowl which he lowered to the ground but away from the Uchiha. "Forgive me, Lord Orochimaru," he muttered bitterly.

The snake man returned his attention back to Itachi, the frown seen not only in his eye, but the downturn of the brow. His tongue clicked.

"Perhaps we should find someplace for our guest. Somewhere more...accommodating so we can catch up before we begin."

~o~

She and Itachi decided to just be surprised when they found out whether or not they had a son or daughter, though there was something eventually tugging at her to go ahead even while her husband was away. He might be upset about this, but he might get over it once he saw the final results. It was almost as if the child was sensing her emotional distress because she missed its father so much that something had to be done in order to alleviate her turmoil.

But then came something else: she began to feel some cramps which came with her worries, and that was also her decision to go to the hospital at once. She wasn't bleeding, a major sign of miscarriage, but you couldn't be too careful...

...and it turned out her fears were unfounded.

"Looks like everything is going well, Hanaru," Sakura noted as she sat in the patient's chair, the ultrasound remote running over her exposed belly; the gel first made her skin shiver before warming the more the pinkette ran it over the firm expanse.

As she pointed out: there was the baby all curled up in black and white. And the revelation of the gender brought her to near tears that she had to keep this secret - for now.

The sight of her and Itachi's child - resting beneath one hand - made the floodgates prick the corners of her eyes. It was so hard not to cry, which Sakura noticed and reached with her free hand to rest on her shoulder, squeezing it. "Aw, there now," she told Hanaru. "He or she might get impatient since they know their mother has seen."

_If only their _father _could be here to see them. _Thinking about Itachi made her heart sink which was also noticed by her physician, one of Naruto's friends.

"Don't do that; you're gonna make me cry, too," Sakura said with a light laugh. "It makes me think of kids of my own if I ever get lucky."

That was, IF Sasuke himself was interested in starting a family besides purely for expanding the clan bloodline. "Have you and he ever talked about it?" Hanaru asked as the other woman was taking off the remote and then turning the screen off, but the pictures taken would be given to her, so that when Itachi returned home, he would make up missing out on the appointment by seeing this.

Over a week had gone by since Itachi and the gang left, and she hoped they were doing okay. The Hokage hadn't updated her yet; in fact, she didn't bother him since he was busy with other matters. She tried not to worry, though her maternal instincts kicked in, especially with some days coming in with a breeze despite the hot summer air, not a cloud in the sky...

Before she left the hospital, she asked Sakura if she was going to Naruto and Hinata's engagement party which would take place before the season was over. And of course, the answer was yes. Giddy and excited all in one. Everyone was.

Hanaru was so over the moon with this great news - and with the knowledge the baby was still doing well, making her proud but wished Itachi was here - that she forgot about the foreboding sense. When she saw her brother and a handful of his friends like Shikamaru, Choji and Lee, she had to go over and join them at the ramen stand because the smell alone simply got her hungry.

But what happened was that Lee accidentally let it slip that he was surprised she didn't get FAT from the cravings alone, setting off her temper thread, but Choji had been the one to put his hand on her shoulder and assure her that he didn't mean to be offensive She forgave Lee then, but he ought to have learned that was _not _something you tell a pregnant woman!

Not only that, she wasn't in the mood to hit anyone and ruin the good day.

Unfortunately, the chance came when she finally headed home with the intent to sleep it off now, having cleaned house the day before, but then she was visited by a handful of Jounin with bad news that she KNEW she should have paid mind to when she had that forebode earlier.

Her team was back...but her husband was _missing. _

Hanaru's world just about turned black before her eyes.

~o~

_I remember when Sai came about. He had no family, no brothers or sisters - he was all alone. He never recalled his real name except the one given to him. But he was gifted as an artist, and it was in his skills as a Shinobi. _

_But there was one boy, older than him who could have made me think of Shisui - who acted as a real brother to him...but then came that terrible day: he was forced to fight his best friend as a test of loyalty to Root. I was there, watching from the trees, when it happened. _

And what happened was this: Shin was dying from a disease that filled his lungs and had him coughing up blood. So, in order to spare further trauma to Sai, the young man insisted he lie in his report that he killed him - and told him to suppress his feelings and live for both of them.

Itachi had to take it upon himself to stick by the boy and teach him from then on how to feel again, understand bonds, and to keep hiding behind a mask, should enemies use it against him.

Though here he was, and poor Sai - who had also been able to make friends outside of ANBU and fall in love, but had been taken away before it could solidify - ended up being a lost soul within the demon before him. Itachi was in a chair shackled down by sealing tags, which meant he couldn't use his Sharingan right now...or however long.

_But I am going to, eventually. I'll find a way to break free from this entrapment. _

"You know, Itachi, I have to say that when I saw the boy, he reminded me very much like...your brother and yourself. Given I could obtain neither of you, I settled for second best, even if it were only a reflection."

Words could not address how livid he was and ready to spill blood, after cutting him to pieces with his eyes alone - if they were working, that was. But there were other ways he could. And this was his chance to play the cards carefully, so he asked the bandaged, reclining being opposite him. The space was illuminated by a couple lanterns on their respected ends. Orochimaru clearly wasn't at his full strength yet; he wouldn't be if he were mostly wrapped up and had not too long ago been near his limit.

"Now that you are here, what are you going to do now? Pick up where you left off, before Naruto and I came along...and my wife sucked you to the roof?"

A dark chuckle caused the air to vibrate, as well as Itachi's brainwaves. "The genius you are has come onto the mark, as always," he stated, leaning back with his head only. "Since you will be here, the answer is indeed. You figured it out anyway, so there is no use in me lying. I've never been one to do that, as you must know. But no fear, either, for I no longer need dear Hanaru." _Of course, you snake. _"I even had everything brought to this new hideout, courtesy of Kabuto-kun. That includes the information regarding your wife's chakra which is essential to it all. Of course, your party intruded on me able to take what was vital to the experiment -" He referred to Hanaru's uterus, none other. "- but the process has been perfected since my release. I don't need any more subjects to test. But there is definitely certain chakra DNA I need now. Only I have to recover my full strength in this new body of mine before I proceed."

This was it: he failed many times with these abominable male pregnancy experiments, but then Hanaru's chakra was acquired during her abduction and imprisonment to help various powerful bloodlines be carried over, and the donation of a womb aided matters...but now that left one major problem which he was unsure of how to answer to.

_How can the subject give birth when a C-section isn't always reliable?_

"Why do you need _me _now? To be your final, certain guinea pig?" To conjure up the possibility which was ending up as _the pregnant man_...he felt himself double over but held it in. This was more than he could bear compared to everything else in his life...

To his surprise, Orochimaru simply scoffed. "Of course not. I don't see the point of wasting precious energy and resources into you. No, I refuse to go through the trouble of performing surgery on you when the term is up, or to lose the precious Sharingan, even though it shall be put to use. Someone else very close to me shall be the ultimate breeder without a threat to their life." His revealed eye flashed with perverse excitement.

"Think about it, Itachi: a race composed of ALL the powerful, even most rare jutsu if I can't have everything. All that is left is _yours _to donate, to be put to good use..."

_A new race to do your dirty work, when you realize you won't be able to get everything you wanted. You sly snake, you - and the answer presents itself as to WHO the breeder is, if not me._

It made him wonder why the hell he didn't think of it before, or the others whom he prayed were looking for him at this moment.

~o~

If it weren't for the fact she was pregnant, she might have been thrown out of the Hokage's office like her brother used to be for his tantrums - sometimes.

"My husband has been missing since his mission started, and you didn't think to tell me as soon as possible upon receiving notice!" Hanaru roared to the Hokage with Hanabi and her teammates as witnesses - all three standing by to watch.

And as always: "Hanaru, if you would just calm down -" There was a biting edge to Kakashi's words, but she blew up in his face, staying where she was and cradling her baby bump top and bottom.

"CALM DOWN! I'LL TELL _YOU _WHEN I'LL CALM DOWN AS SOON AS I FIND THE PERSON OR PEOPLE INVOLVED WHO SNATCHED ITACHI, AND MAKE THEM RUE THE DAY THEY MESSED WITH THE UZUMAKI AND UCHIHA -" She lowered her voice but still kept it raised an octave. "- especially a pregnant woman who won't let her man be captive like some damsel in distress!"

She saw he was suppressing shudders beneath his stern exterior. Most likely comparing her to how her late mother had been during both pregnancies, and feared her daughter might be worse than she was. Now she whirled around and glared viciously at Hanabi when she dared to speak up. "Sensei, I would calm down before Lord Hokage if I were you."

_You free-tongued little - _She stopped herself from finishing that thought, her temper reaching ebbing points more than before. "And I would _be quiet_ if I were you, Hanabi Hyuuga," Hanaru snarled. "You forget who you speak to - like now."

She received a harsh face in return and a lift of the chin. "I know exactly who I am talking to, but this irrational woman isn't our teacher or the woman Itachi-sensei loves - and she should do what Hokage-sama says and calm down so we all can go out there and seek him out. But we don't even know who got him when we already tried on our mission," Hanabi said heatedly, Byakugan flaring as a means to intimidate, but Hanaru wasn't fazed.

"He just vanished during the night with no traces of his chakra pattern left," Misaki added, coming to her teammate's defense. "I'm just jumping to a conclusion, but...Lord Hokage?" She was getting permission by halting her sentence, and he gave a single nod of approval. "We think it could be...him."

Hanaru calmed down only for a second, now agreeing with them but still bubbling, when she knew who Misaki meant by "him". "Orochimaru," she answered, clearing her throat, but taking a breath afterwards didn't help her heartbeat picking up its pace.

"No one is giving up on Itachi; I have many scouting that area, and even others to pick up leads on the outside, but I wish I could guarantee how long it will take," Kakashi told her, leaning back and relaxing, but otherwise alert. He exhaled and lowered his eyes to the surface of his desk, a faraway look present.

Hanaru had to hiss as the people she knew best came to her mind, if only to make this faster. "In that case, send out my brother and any of his friends. You know them as well as I do, Lord Hokage."

The twinkle in his eye told her he one hundred percent agreed with her, and behind her, so did Hanabi, Daichu and Misaki. _Just hold on, Itachi. I know you can get through anything...whatever that snake throws onto you..._

But she prayed with her heart he wouldn't go through whatever she had, or if Orochimaru had in mind finally getting Itachi like she knew he wanted.

~o~

_Perhaps I should have killed you when I had my chance. Never mind that you are difficult to kill. But I took pity on you. _

But he did not say the words, for his own reasons being this: he would be giving the snake the satisfaction. It was a tactic he recalled learning the hard way in his younger days.

Meanwhile, the last thing he remembered was his world darkening after his "chat" with Orochimaru, and then he was aware of waking up again, feeling as though his energy was drained. He was back in the room he was given, but how long had he been out? Grimacing, Itachi noted that he was unshackled but laying down and faceup on a table..._an operating table. _He turned his head to his left at the source of the voice - and glared at the person who had his back to him, at work tinkering with whatever the devil it was.

"Finally, you're awake. Sorry, Lord Orochimaru wanted you to be as docile as possible, which meant taking far more precautions than with your wife. That meant more than just the sealing in your body, given how much more powerful you are than even she is -"

Itachi hissed through his teeth at the manner in which Kabuto belittled his _koishii._ "You have seen what Hanaru can do, so don't waste your breath on mocking her. It gets you nowhere; I thought a medical genius like yourself would have developed enough to know that the tactic won't work on me," he said, finally smirking.

Now Kabuto turned, only halfway, but he said no words except with his eyes: _You want what your wife got from me again?_

"Oh, don't give me that look, you fool. But at least answer me this: why do you serve that...snake? When you know good and well what kind of monster he is? Surely he repulsed you from the start and continues to do so? Or is it that you..." Itachi sprung the trap here and now.

"...lack self-confidence and self-esteem to do something for yourself rather than someone else? There is a difference between a master and a friend in one - as well as a master who threatens you with death at every turn."

"You and your mind games," the medic growled, whipping his head back around, body visibly shaking as he found he was losing control of himself. "You know nothing about me. I have been pursuing what I want for the longest time, but sometimes I still wonder WHO I really am, after living a life of lies upon lies."

_Now we're getting someplace. _"You've lived as a spy, suppressing who you really are and having no place to call your own," Itachi stated, the pieces all coming together now. It reminded him too much of his old self...now he understood in just this moment...

"...yes. From the start, I was nobody and had nothing." Then that face twisted into a sneer. "Something like you, a golden boy who had everything, would NEVER understand."

Itachi had to bite back a sarcastic remark, but before he could say something else, there was Orochimaru coming into their shared presence. "Five weeks of resting up for yourself as well as my own self - it has paid off." There he was devoid of the bandages, and indeed he was quite well, restored to his old self.

_Five weeks...that's how long I have been...oh, Kami, god damn it all._

He had no idea what day it was, but he knew what it meant: he had missed his child's birth, and that meant no one had pinpointed his whereabouts. His heart sank down to his own stomach, despair overcoming his being.

"I've had a few days since a certain surgery, and it will take a couple more weeks to settle in altogether, though it means I can still act upon what I have waited such a long time for. But before we get started, I have time to answer a few more...questions of yours since you clearly have more."

Itachi did NOT like that perverse gleam in the poisonous yellow eyes which meant more than just a simple exploration to get what he wanted.

**Be warned with the next chapter. :S The worst is to indefinitely come and change our main characters' lives...**


	6. To Ransom a Man's Soul

**So, there are gonna be triggers here. Won't spoil, but you've been warned. **

**The chapter is named after the finale of Outlander season one, and from in here to the future will be inspired by its events. **

Chapter Six

To Ransom a Man's Soul

Itachi had been gone for _five weeks._

In that time, life had been nothing but a nervous wreck that she had to rely on Sakura's prescriptions to relax her nerves, even visits from her Chuunin - mostly Misaki, the kind soul she was, though Hanabi was stubborn as usual and stating that her sensei was "irrational" despite understanding she had every right to be like this.

Misaki and her brother were with her one day when the day was cloudy, with the high chance of rain. After many days of sunshine and heat, fireworks at night in some towns outside the village, now was one of the nastiest to come. They told her that Hanabi wasn't coming because of last time in the Hokage's office, especially with what she said to their teacher. "She is refusing to even talk to her teammates - US!" Misaki said, huffing as she was at the stove, helping her sensei stir fry noodles as well as make rice balls, while her brother sat at the table after setting it up. "Her sister told us their father was having a serious discussion with her about this...and I think it has to do with because of you, Sensei."

Because of everything she'd done for the Hyuuga clan - mostly for Hinata and Hanabi. What if Hiashi was giving his youngest daughter the talk about how difficult it was to worry about your spouse as well as the fear of possibly raising your child - or children, in his case - alone?

"I hope she doesn't get you in trouble, Hanaru-sensei," Daichu concurred, shaking his head. "I mean, she should have known better. Sometimes I think she's not gonna really grow up at all, even though she says she _is_."

Hanaru couldn't help but laugh a little, leaning back against the sink. She agreed with them on that, but on the other hand, Hanabi never meant malicious harm. In some ways, she was like her brother Naruto in that her tongue wagged for attention time and time again. _Even if she tends to go too far half the time. _"Perhaps you're right," she said to Daichu, "but while we don't like it most of the time, she means well. Even I know that after last time." But that earned a scoff from her student at the table.

Daichu was rising up now, tired of sitting, and stretched his bones before picking all the bowls up. "Doesn't excuse the fact you're pregnant and she talked to you like that!" he stated with a harsh, single nod.

Which happened that tempers HAD to rise at the time she learned her husband was held captive - likely by either Orochimaru or Kabuto, or both - and no one yet knew how or where to find him, though now she got the notice that there was a lead, and her brother and Sasuke would be sent out very soon, along with a couple others. Her frustration rose because there was nothing she could do, but it affected the siblings and Hanabi, as well. Given they were there but had been knocked out before they saw Itachi gone.

It was believed to be a knock-out gas or something, maybe a jutsu that took the form, but traces were gone before Hanabi's Byakugan could get a small lock on the trail. Whoever did it was a hell of a genius...

But back to the present. No one was to blame, but Hanabi had to work on her self-control, while Hanaru herself looked forward to when all was well again - IF it would be.

Misaki was bringing the pot from the stove to stuff the bowls her brother carried with the noodles she helped make. That was Hanaru's cue now to bring the rice balls out of the fridge. She felt her stomach rumble as she heard theirs with her sensitive ears, though it wasn't hunger alone.

Next day, she heard the news which she never thought would come, at least four weeks later: Orochimaru's newest hideout was finally discovered, and a team of the best were going out there to see if Itachi could be there. She had never been so happy that she bowed down to her waist and fell to her knees, covering her face and crying with joy. She was in Hinata's company while they were out and about at the tea house when she was visited by one of the Hokage's summoning dogs, Pakkun.

_I remember giving him one of Itachi's shirts so he could track his location to wherever, take as long as it needed to...and after this many weeks, it's finally caught up. _

Hanaru was so excited, but she tried not to get her hopes TOO high; she couldn't help but worry what condition he could be in. And days away from the baby's birth!

Naruto and Sasuke were indeed out, and before they left, they each had their own way of assuring her she had nothing to fear. Her brother was as expected: "Believe it, _nee-chan_, I'm bringing your baby daddy back to you even if we have to tear Orochimaru's guts out!" _Because that's where my husband's scent was traced to: the snake's new hideout someplace near the border of Suna. _And he put his palm flat on her stomach so that he could send that message to the baby, too. Swearing to get its father back.

And Sasuke wasn't sarcastic, though she expected the righteous rage and determination in his eyes, because that was his brother whom he angrily swore to rescue for their family - and for _her_. "Because that's my brother and your husband, I am gonna destroy that body-stealing scumbag if that is the last thing I do, Hanaru," he promised, then raised his hand to rest his palm on her stomach to be next to Naruto's. Both of them giving the same promise to their niece or nephew...but the mother herself knew the sex. Only her.

The boys would still be out there when, many days later, _the day _finally arrived, but there was still no Itachi - which made things just as worse.

It began with a bang: Hanaru's pains started when she was with Hinata at the Hyuuga residence, discussing their parts in the plans for the engagement party, then bring it to Hiashi's attention - and that was when it began around mid-afternoon when the day was partly cloudy. That was when she knew what it was, when the pains grew worse and made her scream loud enough to attract the attention of the entire household as well as its master and his youngest daughter, the student she was working to smooth things over with.

_The baby's coming!_

If word broke out in the Hyuuga complex, then it would soon spread throughout the whole village of the upcoming birth of the new Uchiha. That meant many would flock to the hospital, but no one knew it would take more than the rest of the day or even the night itself. And in that time, it was hell on earth for Hanaru after a while, when the exhilaration faded.

To think she'd been glad the day arrived, but sad because three people weren't here to sit beside her - but on second thought, she was glad her brother and Sasuke weren't, since they deserved to not have their hands broken by her grip as she thrashed in agony, wailed and cursed with all her might at the horrendous battle in her body as she fought to bring the baby into the world, contrasted with the kid taking time on its own...as if it _enjoyed _torturing her. But when she shrieked this to the women around her, Tsunade just chortled. "Girl, that child might think you don't love them if you tell them that story when they're older!" she said, amused herself.

That was when Shizune informed them all as she was rejoining them that much of Konoha was gathered around to await the birth, before the civilians were being ushered away because there was no telling when the child would come. If it would last through the night, there was no need for them to waste their precious time camped outside when there were important things for them in their own lives.

Hanaru was glad the circus was silenced - for now - but there was no doubt everyone was still talking and speculating...though she feared what they were saying about its missing father. She tried so hard to NOT think about it.

When the afternoon grew late, the sky darkened with rain clouds, though the downpour didn't begin until when the day itself ended, and the labor continued. Hanaru had never been so exhausted in her life; she was a damned Shinobi, and she thought she could _endure_ this!

As the hours grew darker and darker into the night, the storm worsened by midnight and lessened as the early morning hours began. The crowning had finally begun by then. _About Kami damned time! _She swore to the high heavens at this worst kind of tearing that started to finally take place...

...and just as dawn breached the sky with some gray clouds lingering if not forecasting more precipitation, the eighteen unbearable hours were over; the child's cries pierced the air. Shouts of joy and relief mixed with the healthy wails, though the mother tuned it out and instead focused her attention on the dark pink thing which wriggled in Sakura's arms, eyes squeezed shut and dark hair in wet strings plastered about its forehead. Her heart and the rest of her body, after nearly a whole day in torture, started to take a turn. The tears which were melting her cheeks like lava began to feel like a hot spring.

She was _in love. _

Unknown to her for the time being, two important figures arrived at the village gates, flanked by backup Shinobi who answered the distress call - and with a third pitiful form between them.

~o~

_He lay on his stomach, face turned the other way. He couldn't bear to look at the other man who lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling and relishing this more than him. His body was tingling from the aftermath of what happened between them, and it made him feel ashamed...and loathe himself for letting this happen. _

What will SHE think of me if she learns of this?

_That question was the fruit of what the monster asked him as soon as what they did was over. Not only did he get what he needed for his schemes, but he also took something else that was kept between him and the woman he loved - though now, all was lost. _

_He wanted nothing more than to be put out of his misery. Against his better judgment and his common sense. His honor and dignity had been taken from him, so that was justification enough, never mind that there were loved ones waiting for him..._

_...and then the moment was interrupted when his tormentor rose at the sound of footsteps. Growling at the inopportune arrival, he stood and gathered his fallen kimono to wrap around himself, not bothering to cover up his victim on the table. Just left him exposed, covered in blood; the stench of the dried red liquids as well as semen hung in the air, making his insides churn over each other. He was tempted to throw up like he did before._

_"Lord Orochimaru -!" Kabuto halted his sentence upon seeing the state their "guest" was in, but the latter heard him and paid no mind. He wanted nothing more than to disappear. "I'm sorry, but Leaf Shinobi are approaching us. We should flee at once; I already have what we need packed up and ready to go, so we can proceed the final step as planned."_

_"...I suppose I can forgive you for intruding at the wrong time, Kabuto, but damn it. A day or two of delaying what I waited an eternity for! Well, no matter." He sniggered, the sound of slurping audible to Itachi's ears. "I have what I needed anyways. It's best we move on -" His attention fell down to Itachi who finally found the strength to look up with his eyes only, numb to his core and feeling close to nothing. _

_"- and leave him to be found by dear friends."_

_But he barely heard what Kabuto exclaimed in shock before his world spun like a web and darkened into nothing. Peaceful nothing which would rouse to painful awareness. _

~o~

The pain was unbearable in every form.

One form was within his own body that haunted him in the darkness he resided until he came to and found himself staring up at white which blurred like fog before clearing to show the lines, giving away tiles. _I'm in a hospital._

He had been rescued, after all, but not before...

The other pain was in his body, which would heal in time after the right care. But they could NOT heal what would forever remain inside. And the knowledge of what might have happened in the eyes of the three who sat beside him to his right didn't help either. He wanted so much to turn away but couldn't, for he flinched at the needles in his veins - which he sustained a fair few times in his lifetime - and it was _Sasuke _who told him that he shouldn't move much, because Sakura this time would have his head rather than Tsunade.

Itachi chose to have that chance if only to alleviate this pain in himself. His brother's words only did so much. "I'm glad we finally found you, _aniki_ \- Naruto and I - but I'm ashamed that we didn't come in time." He made a noise of self-loathing, lips pulling back to show his teeth. "If we find that snake, we'll finish him off together."

Besides Sasuke, there was also Naruto and Shisui, both with their jaws clenched. "Yeah, we were close to doing that, but he got away," Naruto snarled, fists closing in to show white at the knuckles. "You won't believe what we found, either, though I'm sure you've seen a lot -" He stopped himself at once upon seeing the murderous scowl from both Uchiha brothers. Itachi never hated his wife's brother, but right now, he was ready to yank off these needles and strangle him before Sasuke did.

Now was Shisui's turn to speak, attempting to lessen the tension if remaining vigilant.

"Well, looks like you'll eventually make a full recovery, Itachi - but I'm not the true judge based on what is _inside._ A lot has happened while you were gone, and I also know you must have a lot to share with us...as much as you can," he added.

_Yes, I'll give everything on Orochimaru that we never knew...but it's no one else's business what else he did to me._

~o~

He was a beautiful baby - _my little boy._

Hanaru cradled him close to her, his head resting against her breast and with one hand curled into a little fist. His eyes were closed, mouth parted to breathe softly. He smelled as sweet as pink roses, which made her laugh lightly. It wasn't a surprise he had black Uchiha hair. She was a little glad he didn't inherit the whiskers she carried; it was a trait only from Kyuubi host to their own biological children, like she and Naruto got from their mother.

Speaking of her brother, he arrived back with Sasuke and the others - with her _husband _safe and sound, but in serious if not fatal condition - at the same time the child finally arrived. When Itachi was taken to the infirmary to be examined and then cared for until they knew what was really wrong with him, Naruto and Sasuke arrived in her room, both with broad smiles on their faces that she knew were forced, because of whatever it was they'd uncovered while they were near the border to Suna, not yet touching the sand landscapes or the mountains above.

_Orochimaru did a damned good job hiding so well until now. _

After having everyone in the emergency room fawn over the baby whom she still had to name, now his uncles would have their turn.

It was nice to see Sasuke softened up when he got to hold his nephew, even saying that he looked forward to seeing him grow up, protect him with everything he had and train him to be a hell of a Shinobi who surpassed his father - but then he stopped himself there, clearing his throat. Because of the fact he had just brought his brother home with the help of his best friend, and Hanaru was too tired and enjoying the company of her new son to lecture Sasuke.

"Oh, yeah, that's a cute boy! I can't get over him, sister," Naruto said, lowering his voice and having his turn since he had no right to wake the baby, who grunted and turned a little. "You got a name yet?"

Indeed she did, and it was reserved for either a son or daughter, she and Itachi had decided a long time ago. "His name is Ren...Ren Uchiha."

"Hn," was typical of Sasuke, followed by how symbolic it was in not too many words. "Giving him a strong name."

"Yeah, that is a nice name. I never would have thought of that!" Naruto added, grinning as he handed the little one back to his mother, at the same time Shizune was coming in.

"My thoughts exactly. And since you boys had your fun spending time with your nephew, time for me to take him back to his spot with the other newborns." She smiled at Hanaru when she came and reached for the baby, who was now named Ren, and the mother willingly handed him to the other woman. Most of her was sad to let him leave her arms, though she had to. "Be sure to try and get some more sleep after these two leave you," Shizune added just as she was leaving, giving the boys a firm gaze.

Now Hanaru was alone with them both, and that meant they were going to tell her what happened to Itachi - whatever they could, at least. She had no idea how long he was cared for since she'd been asleep after the long hours of labor and the few extra while Ren was cleansed and circumcised.

"So, you two tell me..." Her own voice sounded hardened to her own ears. "...what happened to Itachi."

The look they shared was grave, though onyx eyes and cerulean blue shared the same smoldering fire that told her enough if not everything their mouths did.

Orochimaru's discovered hideout aside, they found the snake and his rat assistant were gone, and there was nothing that could help any of them except what looked like fetus jars and other subjects, which told them he was back to what he had been working on before his incarceration. _So, he's doing it again...what I almost ended up a party for. _And she was so glad she wasn't carrying Ren anymore, or else she would have ended up miscarrying or going into labor instead of yesterday!

What the boys told her was enough to make her nearly faint and then wake up, hoping it was only a bad dream.

"Not only could we not get those two, but we found my brother alone in a mockery of a bedroom...naked and covered in blood. And the smell was enough to make me want to not only retch, but to go out there and kill those two myself," Sasuke growled, his eyes blaring to bloody life as emphasis.

Naruto's teeth could have just elongated to fangs with his part. "Yeah, and as for that, when Itachi woke up here in the hospital, he told us everything and wasted no time: Orochimaru took not only Sai's body for his new vessel, but he had five weeks to get adjusted to it, and then something else a thousand times more disgusting took place. Granny Tsunade, Sakura and everyone with found traces of some kind of hallucination drug, or a love spell..." He couldn't bring himself to finish, holding his breath and puffing his cheeks out, so Sasuke did that for him.

"It was an aphrodisiac as well as a hallucinogen, and there are also...physical signs that _aniki _isn't ready to talk about. You must have an idea what I am thinking about, right?"

He didn't mean to question her intelligence, and she knew it. Her stomach was rolling with its contents, and she swallowed it down but heard the sound of its rumbling.

Not only was Itachi abused as she'd been, participated in the grotesque experiment - _and oh, God, poor Sai! I remember him being there when I was rescued _\- but he had also been brutally _RAPED._

**So, that's what I had planned from the beginning long ago when I began the Night Flowers Saga: what Itachi endured under Orochimaru. I feel ashamed to do this to him, so there is no excuse. :(**

**Next few chapters or so will deal with the aftermath as well as reveal more about what our favorite Uchiha endured, though I have to tread this with care. Real life victims are sure to attack you if you don't treat this with respect, especially if you NEVER experienced this yourself. I have also read a few fics in the past which deals with this traumatizing favorite characters. **

**Stay tuned for the next. Review please without flames. **


	7. Beneath the Surface of Sunlight

**If the previous chapter wasn't a disturbing trigger enough, here comes the next, and that means the male pregnancy topic hits the wrong spot in terms of another character - but not Itachi, I promise in order to give a sigh of relief.**

**That doesn't mean, however, our beloved Uchiha is completely well at this moment, or shall be anytime soon. This is where things start to get stormy...**

Chapter Seven

Beneath the Surface of Sunlight

He told them everything he knew, except he would NOT talk about what became of him after the experiment but before Naruto and Sasuke came in.

_Five weeks being with Orochimaru, but during that time being in a deep sleep by his hand. In that time, he recuperated...in SAI'S body, none other. And then came the awakening, coming along with the most horrendous of revelations that I have heard._

Itachi wanted to know what of the Akatsuki now that he had returned, but the Snake Sannin simply waved off that he had no intentions of returning to that organization as it did only so much to give him what he wanted, and he certainly had no feelings or even ill-will towards them at the end of the day. This baffled Ibiki Morino, Inoichi Yamanaka and the others, but it also relieved everyone else and increased everyone's chances of one day finishing the Akatsuki for good. But this one who remained out there, leaving Itachi Uchiha - one of their best and finest - the way he did, had to be eliminated somehow, yet no one could finish him off.

And on the other hand, it was no secret that Itachi also didn't kill him when he had the chance, especially after rescuing his future wife.

He told them more: Orochimaru had a surgery a few days before his awakening, but it would take a couple more weeks to settle in altogether, but he couldn't wait to get what he needed the Uchiha for. Thus came to the revelation he spoke of in his mind at this present moment, which before left his lips to the others in front of his bed. He'd been more than ready to get this over with, but there were things he could NEVER tell them - even if they found the blend of "love drug" and narcotics in his system...and other stuff that didn't belong.

Orochimaru had experimented on men the way he did, not to have a personal breeder, but to make _himself _that way.

"That bastard," Naruto snarled. "That means since he can't get all the jutsu himself, he puts it into someone else - IN himself. Now he got your Sharingan without taking your eyes or even your body, Itachi!"

Now that the snake man had not only a new body, but a _womb_ within that new body which would take perhaps a couple more weeks to get used to, and what was worse: he took Itachi's DNA to implant the Sharingan within himself, also with the use of his _koishii'_s chakra.

Sasuke even put it bluntly like this: "He's gonna...have kids. To carry on the abilities he needed for himself - such as OURS. It makes me sick to think about it. How the hell is he going to make do on that?!"

The thought of such a nightmarish thing seemed to even make Morino cringe, and Inoichi announced that it was going to make him lose his appetite by the time he headed home to his daughter's world-class dinner. A dinner that she might, no doubt, not feel like making after just learning of what became of the young man she'd fallen in love with before...

And if that was the case, then _Hanaru _was NOT to know about this.

Now Itachi's brain clicked as soon as he thought of his wife. "H-Hanaru, how is she -?" he asked, before Naruto interrupted him, and this was after the interrogation duo left him alone.

"Oh, she's just great - and so is the kid."

_She gave birth...while I was away._ Now the guilt was starting to eat him away, bit by small and slow bit until it grew stronger. She had their child, and he had _missed_ it. That feeling was right all along, and he hated Orochimaru more than ever for this.

"Yeah, _nii-san,_" Sasuke added, forcing a smile which didn't reach the glitter of visible pride in his eyes, "he's a strong, healthy boy."

Itachi noted how he still had his shell up despite all the excitement, so now was the last straw. "Sasuke, start showing more excitement. You're an uncle now that you must have held...him." _What he and Naruto must have done as soon as I came in, now that I know she delivered before I came in. _

He wasn't sure what to make of all of this now: they had been hyped, as Naruto and his sister would always say, about the child coming, but with Orochimaru's monstrosity...Itachi Uchiha was unable to forget the pain he was still feeling no matter returning to what he hoped to be a joyful present. He could still FEEL every small, intimate caress, the tongue...just everything...including those words beside every other before and after.

_"Your blood I was considering tasting just like that one time. I'm sure it could be just as sweet as Hanaru's, or even better, but let's find out..."_

The enduring humiliation was more than he could bear. He wished he'd been around the medical instruments again so that he could use something if not his visual prowess, but damn it all!

His powerful brain could only suppress so much. Maybe during the day he could do most of it, somehow get the means to not obsess so much and try to heal himself since he was around family and friends - except he feared night, since that was where you were most vulnerable. That meant he would see, hear and remember _everything_ that was done to him in a single day.

In that time, Orochimaru had a few months or less now that the internal transformation was complete.

He was brought back to the present when Naruto piped up. "Yeah, we had our turns, didn't we, Sasuke? In fact, Itachi, since you're awake, I know just what you need, and I'm gonna go get him!" Ignoring Sasuke's slap to his own face and muttering of disbelief, he hurried out of the emergency area and went on the hunt for the space where the newborns were being cared for, ignoring that he was going to have to face someone's wrath - which meant certain women he knew too well.

He was alone with his _otouto _now. "I...missed my own son's birth," was all he could say, laying back against the pillow and looking ahead at the curtain that surrounded his resting spot. But Sasuke looked at him with a look of vehemence, shaking his head all the same.

"No, it wasn't even your fault. You know that, and I know it. Everyone does. We spent weeks searching for you, and..." He paused there to let his eyes blaze to red. "...if we find that snake, I'm going to get him for you. For what he did to both you and Hanaru - to our entire family and the village." The vengeance had never been so blaringly passionate and sincere that Itachi halfway worried, but his brother wasn't the reckless child he used to be.

"Sasuke, if you're thinking about killing him yourself -"

"I know what you're going to say, and I know I won't be able to, but damn it all: why can't we find the weak point to that bastard? You always used to say to me that every jutsu has a weakness!"

_You're right, and whenever I am well, I'll help you, brother to brother. But we need all the help we can get._

Naruto came back sometime later, and in his arms was a quiet little bundle wrapped up in maroon blankets; he was beaming ear to ear, causing the whiskers on his cheeks to nearly slide against each other. "Be sure to not wake him up; he's really sleeping like a rock, even when the nurses gave me permission to bring him."

As soon as the fragile thing was placed into his arms, Itachi saw the sleeping face of his son for the first time, and his heart melted upon looking at the gentle features, tufts of dark Uchiha hair, but he wished he could look into those eyes which were closed.

He damned Orochimaru once more. Damned him for taking him from his wife and this little boy they had together, most of all, in this moment. Holding back the tears burning the corners of his eyes, Itachi lifted his face and pressed a tender kiss to his boy's soft forehead.

~o~

She'd been here in the hospital for a few days, but she felt herself recovering faster than intended. Except she had to leave only when she was ready to.

From what she heard, the weather was hot now. And she meant _sweating. Perfect timing for me and my family to all get out of this hospital. _

Speaking of family, Mikoto and Fugaku were here to check up on her and their grandson, and it was a joy to see her father-in-law bright as the sun just like those times his sons had been born. Hanaru could see him spoiling the boy along with his wife. Then they both came in, telling her Sasuke was once again with his brother despite having things to do - which told her brothers were ever devoted to each other, just like her and her own - and that they had seen their eldest son themselves.

There was now a glaze of heartbreak in Mikoto's eyes while Fugaku's mouth was now in a tight line.

"What are we going to do now?" her mother-in-law asked, having never looked so devastated. "We just got him back; he can't sink down into darkness, Fugaku..."

"You're right, but what can we do?" he pointed out, sounding like he was ready to explode and was doing his best to hold it in. "If I were out there, I would deal with Orochimaru myself...but I know he'll get his. I'd rather focus on my son getting well again and spending time around us and his son." His attention rested on Hanaru, and the message was there: _You might be able to save him if any of us can't. _

That alone gave her hope, though because she had seen enough, she was sure it would NOT be easy, and if things didn't work out, she had no choice but to take drastic measures to save both her husband and their marriage. She really needed to see him today, talk to him, because Sakura told her he was doing well - except inside his mind and heart.

_I said a long time ago that he needed someone like me. Someone to brighten his days even when the great winds of devastation would come, and then we rebuild together...but somehow I feel those winds might be too strong to withstand._

_But NOT if I have anything to say about it. _

"When he - no, all three of you," Mikoto added, a determined blaze present, "get out of here, I'm going to have the whole family at the house so we can just celebrate and enjoy each other's company. Just try to get things back to normal and enjoy this new addition in our lives." That was why she loved her mother-in-law. She was taking charge first for her entire family - mostly her son - and putting the focus now on her first grandchild, which was what Hanaru also wanted.

"Speaking of which," she said, "I feel I should see him myself, if permission can be granted."

Fugaku sniffed. "I have already pulled that string. I have a wheelchair outside and waiting for you. Then we leave the happy couple alone," he told his wife.

When the wheelchair was brought in, she stood up on her own and eased in, wincing only because of the mild pops in her muscles, leaving behind relief. She was excited and nervous to finally see her _saiai,_ but she was afraid to ask him what happened, based on what Sasuke told her...

_He's been experimented on, then drugged and..._

_Raped._

From what Tsunade told her as soon as the boys were gone and the baby taken, there was indeed semen found in her Itachi, identified and confirmed as Orochimaru's; this information was going on record but forbidden to be discussed among fellow Shinobi or even to the civilians. She had never felt so...sick in her life. Itachi, the love of her life, had been...

There was no doubt that he would feel she wouldn't want to be with him like THAT anymore, or have any kind of contact such as a kiss or an embrace. She tried to not think about it too much, trying to keep her faith that he would be over this with her help.

She wouldn't be surprised he wanted Orochimaru DEAD for this, as much as she did.

Now she was sitting by his bedside in her wheelchair, and Mikoto behind her while her husband waited outside after telling Itachi that he would leave them alone; Mikoto followed that, but not before going over and tearfully kissing her son on his forehead, then doing the same to baby Ren who had woken up and was cooing, but his eyes still weren't opened yet. Although they blinked a few times to show a sliver of _blue. He has MY eyes. _

"He's beautiful, _koishii_. He has your eyes."

And he'd read her mind without trying too hard, as always. Hanaru forced a smile, pushing her hair behind her ears purely out of habit. This he watched while gently bouncing their son in his arms, a faint smile appearing on his face, before it slipped away. Then he broke all eye contact and looked down at the child whose birth he missed against his will, and she knew it. "He looks just like you," was all she could say. Now she had no idea how to ease the tension she could feel coming. She didn't even have much time to be here.

"I'm glad you're back, and you're going to be...all right." The last words sounded strangled to her own ears, and he noticed, eyes raising instead of his entire head as the sign.

"I came back as promised...but not the way either of us wanted." The words were spoken with bitter contempt and loathing, though she couldn't tell if it was on him or that damned snake.

There was no way in hell she would let that ruin their reunion, so she wheeled herself over to be closer to him, stopping before her knees could hit the bed side. "No, but you're here now, and that's all that matters, my love." She reached over with one hand to place itself on his shoulder - and that was when she felt him stiffen. Telling her what she feared. Quickly, she tried to make the moment light again, keeping her touch on him. "And he's here, and you're not too late, either. I gave birth that morning you were brought back."

He looked her square in the eye, a sour smile never reaching his eyes. "I missed all the hours you were in agony bringing this strong, sweet boy into the world."

"Enough of that. We're going to work to better our lives again. That monster will pay someday soon, but in the meantime, when all three of us are out of here, your mom wants us all at the house - her and your dad's house, I mean - so we can celebrate Ren's birth, and the fact you are back with us. And then we can continue planning Naruto and Hinata's engagement party, which I had been doing while you were gone."

He continued to look at her with that same loving gaze she knew, though it didn't seem he was all there. Her heart was beating, but not in a good way...no, it was foreboding despite her attempted optimism.

~o~

The next day, after he and Hanaru were discharged from the hospital, they stood outside before a crowd that gathered to see the couple reunited as well as their newborn son - Ren Uchiha, which all thought was befitting.

The great, beautiful wreath contributed to them by the villagers and the Yamanaka flower shop was pure and innocent with great white daisies as well as baby's breath and miniature white rosebuds. The next was from their fellow Shinobi - counting Team Hanaru, as well - and of blue delphinium and yellow roses, ending with the one from the Uchiha clan as a whole: the shape of their crest with the red part consisting of roses and the bottom white chrysanthemums.

The sun beating down on them, no cloud for once in the sky, didn't dampen their spirits just this once. At the moment, he was feeling better - _only a little bit_.

Itachi found himself looking first at his wife, unable to get enough of how _radiant_ she was, and how genuine her smile was complementing, her sparkling irises. That dress even matched her hair which was currently in a higher ponytail than her liking, and was patterned with what looked like delicate white daisies and roses. She was refreshed and bright as the sun overhead...and the major cause was not only himself beside her, but their son who was still in the maroon blanket, his face revealed to the entire village.

Their boy...he could never get enough of looking at him. This cherubic combination of Hanaru and himself that they created together. This beautiful boy who had no fault in anything. Itachi reached out and gently rested his index finger on the plump cheek like he did to his brother when he was born. In response, Ren grunted and squirmed a little.

Onlookers cooed in awe at the loving display the father gave his child, and then the kiss he gave his wife on her brow. But it wasn't all smiles, because he saw Ino Yamanaka beside Sakura, and the glaze was present. _No doubt she had been told about Sai._

Behind her was Choji Akimichi, and the look he had towards his blonde teammate was one Itachi Uchiha knew too well, besides simply the need to comfort his best friend. There was also hesitancy since he feared what it would do to their friendship.

And word was around, on a lighter note: Sasuke and Naruto set to compete on a different level which was who would spoil their nephew the most.

Lord Sixth even had the time to come down and pay his respects - as well as give his blessing to Ren, then congratulated the new parents, to which Hanaru thanked him for.

Finally, there was Team Hanaru, to which there was no bickering for a change; it also seemed Hanabi was on better behavior than before, to which Itachi was pleased to know, except he had to see for himself.

Blessings and congratulations finished, that left one thing left to do: get away from this circus and go to his parents' place, which he was relieved to do, and good ol' Shisui whisked him and his wife and son away.

~o~

When they walked up the pathway to Fugaku and Mikoto's house by the lake, she found herself looking at their garden once more, finally admitting the symbolism of those orange lilies she glimpsed the last time she paid a visit.

_Hatred...and revenge._

Besides her own qualms, she wasn't surprised that Ino must want that for her Sai's death.

The flowers were being sent over to her and Itachi's home while they spent the day with the family, and each one took turns holding and even bouncing the baby up and down. Her brother was there, too, along with Hinata and her sister while Misaki and Daichu had to be at home. Mikoto made everyone a meal that filled everyone's bellies to the brim, to which everyone thanked her for without obligation under Fugaku - who used to compare Sasuke to his brother, and seemed to finally take his daughter-in-law's words to heart.

The conversation briefly shifted to the talk about the date of the engagement party which was finally set, and it was the start of the harvest season, and a couple weeks before winter solstice would be the day that would bind her brother and Hinata for the rest of their lives.

Shisui had Ren in his arms when this discussion was going on, though the baby wasn't able to laugh or smile yet when he was only a few days old. Still, he cooed and reached out, showing no teeth in his little mouth just yet. "Uncle Shisui is right here!" he crowed, helping the little boy sit upright and held him beneath the arms. That, of course, got her brother and brother-in-law started on saying that they were gonna outshine him if they had anything to say about it...and then Itachi burst, out of the blue and taking them all off-guard.

"The both of you, Ren will _not _have championship of the sort! As far as his father is concerned, all three of you will be important in different ways to him," Itachi snapped, his fingers closing around his teacup filled with sake and threatening to shatter it.

"Itachi!" Mikoto looked at him, shocked and unblinking while her husband could only drop his jaw before reverting to that same scowl he reserved when he was displeased.

"Where on earth did that come from, Itachi? They were only having fun!"

Naruto and Sasuke shared the same mild outrage, in that they had no idea why he was suddenly acting like this - though, deep down, they knew the same thing Hanaru was thinking of and was more worried about than when she learned what happened...or rather, what Itachi could tell them.

_The littlest things are starting to get to him now. Especially his _otouto _and mine bickering for fun over competition. _

Hanaru chose to act now before things blew up, and she saw it on Hinata's pleading face to stand up, since she knew how to handle her husband - only this time, she had no idea how much of an influence she would have now. "Itachi, calm down. Your father is right," she said through her teeth, standing up and going across the kneeling area to take Ren from Shisui, sending an apologetic look with her eyes that he understood with a single, curt nod. "The boys are only having fun, and I don't get why you'd get so agitated for no reason."

He scowled at her, apparently from being talked to like this in front of his family, but HERS was present, too. "Hanaru, I don't see why all of this is being made into such a big deal when we're supposed to be -"

She cut him off, knowing what he was going to say. "_Exactly._ This is supposed to be a great day, worry about the problems tomorrow. So, drop all of this at once -" And she had to give the same stern look to their brothers. "- and you, too, Itachi, so we can save the outbursts the next day. That means when you and I get home, we spare the name-calling and cursing."

The praise was seen in every other pair of eyes in the room, and Shisui whistled. Hinata and Hanabi shared a grateful look with each other, the latter for once not being snarky just for her.

But the look the man she loved, the father of their child, gave her spoke volumes of agitation and disbelief. He had hurt her feelings without directly insulting her.

~o~

He had no idea why he lost his patience like that. Maybe he got tired of the way his brother and his _koishii'_s were always talking about playfully striking each other out before their nephew. And it had been now that Shisui declared himself the third.

As far as Itachi was concerned: all or no one.

His flesh burned with utter humiliation when the eyes of his parents, Shisui and Sasuke, Naruto and the Hyuuga sisters were all on him after his wife scolded him for his behavior and promised him they would deal with this tomorrow rather than today, since it was supposed to be glorious. He had no choice but to comply.

The air was tense when they walked back home, seeing the flowers from around placed strategically about the house's porch, and it was charming, to say the least. She walked up first, cradling their son in one arm and opening the door with one after using the keys. He stayed behind her a safe distance before following her...

...and it all looked the same, yet different. Nevertheless, he was relieved to be home at last.

"This is your home, little guy," Hanaru cooed, holding the baby upright, and he looked around with a perplexed look as well as a coo as he reached out to grasp at nothing in particular. "You're gonna love it here." Then she turned to look back at Itachi who stayed where he was, unsure if he should be anywhere near her after earlier. But she smiled easily. "Are you gonna just stand there or come into OUR home?"

He forced a smile in place and finally walked in, after taking off his sandals and leaving them near the entrance.

The day was almost over, and after what his mother made, they both decided something sweet was in order. He found himself craving the tri-color that she informed him was fresh in the freezer which she made the day before she went into labor, thought to preserve until all of this was over...and she hoped he would be home in time, so the premonition came to be.

Itachi didn't understand why he was feeling so awkward with this, because this woman he loved and married was the mother of his child. He had EVERY right to enjoy being home again, could be the father he was ecstatic to be, and yet...

It was then that she revealed to him - and he was the first person to learn this - that she had an ultrasound of their son before he was born, in Itachi's absence. It had happened when she felt a terrible pain and feared a miscarriage that Sakura had to examine, and that was when they saw the baby's sex by accident. _A happy accident. _

"I kept it from everyone else, because I wanted to surprise everyone," she told him, "and Sakura swore to take it to her grave, even to the medical records alone. But I wish you were there..."

He saw the picture after their snack, feeding their son and spending time with him, to which holding him while she showed him the image between her forefinger and thumb made him melt to his core and ease _some _of his internal suffering. And first the curled up black and white image did the job, before he turned his attention on the boy with his mother's eyes.

Later that night, he knelt beside Hanaru even as the hours grew late - they would have at least a week at home with the baby and each other - and watched as she rocked him while singing a lullaby until he fell asleep and let Itachi take him to lay down in his bed, pulling the blanket that was stitched with the family crest over him. She sighed. "When he wakes up crying tonight, my breast milk is ready for deployment."

The joke was meant to make him laugh more than her, and it worked. Then it was serious again, and she looked up at him with a smirk that hinted what he never saw coming.

"How does that...orchard treatment you gave me sound before we go to bed?"

**R and R! Next chapter definitely will take a turn for the worst after this. **


	8. The Scars That Won't Mend

**If anyone is interested, I began writing a brand new fic called "Moonlight, Rain and Sakura", somewhat set in the Heian era and has our lovely Uchiha involved with THREE women (which I have NEVER done before in my life), and it has seven chapters up so far, with the next on the way. It's just as long as this fic is, if not done yet. :D**

**Warning: dub-con, non-con...ye been warned. Be sure to not eat before you read this, or just make sure you don't lose your appetite.**

**Proceed with EXTREME caution. (holds onto vomit bag)**

Chapter Eight

The Scars That Won't Mend

_"Oh, don't be despaired, Itachi-kun. I promise it won't be so bad. I even got rid of Kabuto just for this..."_

_Five weeks to recuperate, only to have surgery...and now the snake man had a _woman's womb _within his own body. That meant he was going to be impregnated so that HE could pass on the jutsu he wouldn't have to another - or however many. Basically, since the man was more snake than man, it meant his gestation period would be less than a few months at most, but Itachi didn't want to think about it. _

A few months to stabilize, as well, with the chakra DNA now in his system. Which confirms that he has no intentions of returning to join the other Akatsuki, which increases home's chances of destroying the last of them.

_Orochimaru approached him then, never once taking his eyes off his prey. That was what Itachi Uchiha had been reduced to just because of what was in his system, and the fact he couldn't perform his jutsu. He loathed it and now wished the death sentence more than ever. "I'd rather sooner die than endure what else you have!" he spat, making the other chuckle and shake his head. _

_"Oh, don't say such things. You don't mean that when you still have a wife waiting for you at home...and that poor child who hasn't yet seen their father. I hadn't realized what day it was until you woke up. My sincerest apologies for keeping you from such an important day in your life -"_

_"And HERS! If my comrades find you, then you'll wish I had killed you that day as much as I do."_

_Now the snake man was frowning, clucking his tongue. "Again, Itachi, you don't mean that, and I know you don't. But not that it truly matters since you're here, and with everything else out of the way, that means what I have waited such a long time for with you, though not in the sense you think, given I am already covered in that department - and add in the fact you are past your prime, though it doesn't mean you're not as _appealing _as you look," he finished with a viscous slurp of his lips. _

_For the duration of the "examination", besides his blood samples taken, Itachi had been relieved of his clothing which had been an utter insult and humiliation; it was nothing he hadn't done before during ANBU examinations, but this...!_

_And here was what the snake said when he discovered the remnants of the sewing of his lung, and the visible scars from surgery: "Someone did a number on you, Itachi...but it's what makes it all the more _tempting._"_

_It was then that something was happening to him as the serpent-like man slithered those words. His skin felt like it was crawling over and his nerves on fire - all of which left him sizzling with a sensation he was familiar with, and he shamed himself. What had the bastard done to him? _

_The feeling continued to grow stronger and stronger like a lawless conflagration destroying the forests. Caused by man or natural elements, it didn't matter. And those long, spidery fingers ghosted over those parts of his body where his lung had been patched up - beneath a pectoral, even going far to thumb his _nipple_, the action causing him to jerk and grit his teeth - before they were over his six-pack which bore the bumps that were scars. _

_"If you don't...stop..." Itachi forced out, getting another chuckle and lick of the lips, before the nail took another turn when piercing through his abdomen, near his navel and making him hiss and curse. _

_Those cursed words were enough to ride him over the edge. "Your blood I was considering tasting just like that one time. I'm sure it could be just as sweet as Hanaru's, or even better, but let's find out..."_

_This scum had no boundaries or morals to keep that tongue where it belonged! Itachi was a _married man;_ this kind of "attention" wasn't for someone else to give - much less his mortal enemy! The little blood that was released and sliding down the left side to dip into his pelvis was lapped up by that slimy tongue in no time, which didn't stop until there wasn't anything left but a darkened line which would eventually heal fast...and it didn't stop there. _

_Where the tongue paused at now was everything the Uchiha could have a nightmare about since he was in the presence of this man: his member stood proudly aroused beyond his control, against sparse black hairs, earning dilated yellow eyes at the presentation. "Your __performance is flawless, Itachi-kun. Good..." _

_Suddenly, the atmosphere changed, and he couldn't think of anything else but his body's needs. His brain began to burn where it connected to his spine and traveled throughout all directions, blurring his vision and his train of thought, even blocking the face of the man above him...and then Orochimaru was gone altogether so that he saw - _

_"Hanaru?"_

_Long golden hair streaked with red fell loosely around her whiskered face, eyes bright amid the gloom around them. Her compassionate smile was reserved for him, but even though he wanted to return it, he had to ask her. "Beloved...how are you here? Where is that snake?!" _

_"Shh." One of her delicate fingers came up to rest on the bottom of his lip. "He's no longer here. It is now just you and me, my brave warrior," she breathed, leaning down and placing a tender kiss on his lips now. _

_The warmth that was shared between them was there, washing away all worries and ignited the need to bond, regardless of their surroundings. _

He was here, but now you are - and now, it doesn't matter.

_Her body against him was a bliss that he never thought he would feel again, but there was the issue that was her _flat_ stomach. He panicked and ceased the heated lip locking to rasp out, "Where is our child?"_

_"Safe and sound. You'll see what we have as soon as we..."_

_She stopped talking altogether and laid another passionate kiss on him again, her breasts brushing against his pectoral muscles and her thigh hooking around his waist to bring him in closer. Itachi gasped out at the familiar warm wetness that gathered in that sweet bed between his wife's legs. It had been a long time since they did this, but a fraction of his brain developed enough concern that they were perhaps rushing this when she had just given birth. Though she ended his protests altogether when her hands explored him now: his hips, over his ripped stomach and up to his firm chest, kissing him where his heart was beating for her. _

_Her caress finally reached the sacred place which was where he was willing to burn for her, even if it were hell. Her nails gently massaged the arch that was his pubic bone, and he swallowed a groan there and eventually at the squeezing of his manhood, thumbing the white pearl of moisture that gathered there. _

_His hands caressed the small of her back and the hardness of her forearms, then over again to travel down and cup her firm, shapely rear to pull her deeper and create the friction between them. Her hips rubbed against him briefly before elevating so that her molten flower parted to let him in. _

_Nirvana engulfed them to the point where nothing mattered except the pace they set for each other, uncaring even if anyone walked in on them. _

_"...Hanaru, that was beautiful."_

_She lay her beautiful body against him, and all was right. Her silken, hardened skin beneath his palm as well as her luscious hair through his fingers. He had his eyes closed as he relished his wife's embrace after a damning time..._

_...but when he opened his eyes, the pleasant feeling was gone, and he soon discovered it was NOT his beloved flower who was in his embrace. Nor was he caressing flushed ivory, but sickly ashen skin, and his fingers were through straight but unkempt midnight hair. _

_Itachi looked into _golden yellow_ eyes rather than crystalline blue. _

Oh, Kami, gods no...

_"Your body is truly marvelous, dear Itachi - and your own touches _divine_. Exceeds any desires I've had. Your wife is truly a lucky woman, indeed," Orochimaru purred, looking him over as he elevated himself up to look over the weakened and exhausted Uchiha, nude as he was, but Itachi refused to look at him and squeezed his eyes shut. _

_"Where was my wife?" he forced himself to say._

_That wretched tongue clucked. "I'm afraid Hana-chan never was here. I'm pleased the concoction took effect, which made it easy for not only me to get the last of what I need, but for us to...have each other."_

_Which meant that the snake drugged him in order to confuse him into seeing his sweet wife, so that he could...! And the sick smell reached his nostrils, making his stomach churn. The pleasure was gone, but he could still not move. Which meant whatever it was now, it was far from over. Orochimaru's fingers touched a certain place that only _Hanaru _had access to, causing him to flinch at the intruding tug on his pubes; the appearance and care intrigued the snake man as he'd never thought he'd see anything like this. He hummed his approval. _

_Itachi found himself being turned over onto his stomach, and his heart leaped murderously against his breastbone at what would happen now. __The science experiments were over; now was something much worse than samples taken...or death itself. _

~o~

Just as he predicted: night was when he was most exposed, and his mind's defenses were out of control which let the walls down and for all to get out as well as all to get in.

_You'd think the orchard bath Hanaru gave would help. But I felt so..._

Taking his boy after he fell asleep, laying him down even, comforted him as he was happy Ren was eased by the presence of both his parents. Though afterwards, his wife's delicate caresses on his skin as she bathed him the same way he did to her for relaxation, using the same orchard set from his father...out of the blue did he think about _Orochimaru's touches_ rather than his beloved's.

Therefore, he nearly jumped out of his skin and whirled around only to look up and see Hanaru there, not the snake.

But the look in her eyes told him that she understood why he reacted the way he did, though he wondered how much she really did know. "You don't have to tell me right now, if you don't want to," she said softly, picking up the sponge to replace her hands. "Whether it be tomorrow or even next week."

She was patient as always, but he knew her well enough to know that patience had limits. And when Hanaru lost hers...

_How can I talk to her about all the...intimate details? She would be disgusted, but would she keep her promise if not towards me? Would she really hate Orochimaru more than me...?_

Why was his trust in his own wife decreasing?!

What happened tonight was the same as the nights he spent at the hospital: every time he closed his eyes, what transpired at night came to be. He dreamed of Orochimaru, and then he would wake screaming - which got the nurses to rush in and sedate him. Now he did so in the bed he shared with his wife who was looking at him with wide-eyed panic and concern. "Itachi, what is it?!" she demanded, and at the same time, there was distant wailing, which meant they both woke the baby. She swore and slid out of bed; he watched her go without a word.

"Perfect, I woke the baby," he grumbled to no one in particular, laying where he was and staring up at the ceiling. He could feel the perspiration sticking his bangs to his forehead and sides near his ears, but he didn't swipe it.

Some time later and after lonely silence, his body patient for him, Hanaru was back, but she wasn't smiling. This time, she had Ren in her embrace. His eyelids were opening and closing occasionally as he appeared to be trying to go back to sleep while his mother bounced him up and down. "I wish I could apologize to him," Itachi told her, staying where he was, still watching her as she slid back under the covers. He then noticed she had the bottle which had her breast milk, and she began to feed him.

Now she smiled at him. "You were having a nightmare, and he just woke up on his own anyway. Looks like you both are gonna keep me up all night," she joked, not meant to offend, but he still felt guilty. She noted his lack of reaction, crestfallen. "I'm sorry for not asking if you were okay."

Itachi exhaled. "I wish I could say I'm sorry in return. I thought I would not see HIM tonight after the bath..." He grimaced. _If we talk tonight, we may never get any sleep. _

But when he said those words, Hanaru just laughed, and after giving the baby enough of what he needed, she took the bottle from his mouth and set it on the table beside her. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep well for the next few months since he's here now, and I don't see how you talking about your nightmares will make it any worse." Her expression became serious again. "But I did say we talk tomorrow, so why don't you do it then?"

And then she would know the depths of the disgust he felt when the snake did those things to him - or rather, lowered his defenses which enabled Itachi to do half of it.

"I will, and Hanaru, _koishii_..." He looked up at her now, pleading with his eyes only. "...I don't usually beg, but please help me erase this nightmare before it gets worse than it is."

~o~

The next couple of months were...difficult.

Her husband agreed to talk to her the next day after the first night back. It was then that, with him holding their son and assuring her he wouldn't let the child go if he got emotional, he told her everything that happened with Orochimaru which wasn't known to intelligence.

She felt like throwing up the breakfast she'd eaten, but she could imagine how he was also feeling. What he endured was a thousand times worse than what the serpent did to her.

_You just wait, Orochimaru. When I get my chakra levels back to normal, I am going after you with the best I will get. Never mind that revenge might not make me feel better. I'll be doing everyone else a favor._

Itachi said that he spared the man out of pity, which she'd seen herself that one time, and that rotting away until he died would solve their problems, but now killing him wasn't the answer, except one other thing...

For the time being, she had a new son to focus on and a suffering husband to take care of. But so did the others. To which he agreed to counseling and therapy sessions, as well as prescribed anti-depression and sleep medication, which was where Kurenai Sarutobi came in as she now had a license in psychiatric therapy and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Though, in the summer when the rain would still go on, there were a few moments that ended up breaking out between her and Itachi.

The upside was that he wasn't distancing himself from anyone, but he never told them what the snake did to him unlike her, his wife. It made her happy he wasn't purposefully trying to avoid their friends and loved ones, except she knew it was far from over. Only Shisui wouldn't be around much due to missions, and Sasuke tried to be there despite his duties in the police force; their father was also trying to be more...supportive, which he didn't do often. Mikoto was ever loving and just as supportive, but to know her own son had gone through...

Naruto and Hinata, too. She told them both everything, resulting in Hinata nearing tears while Naruto bared his fangs and cursed the thirst for Orochimaru's blood. "Don't ya worry, _nee-chan._ When you're well, the three of us - you, me AND Sasuke - are going out even if we go against Kakashi-sensei's refusal," he declared, which was her baby brother and his promises...but she just hoped it wouldn't jinx any plans they made, which was never the first time.

_All I care is that snake being dead. _

But in the meantime, as long as summer was on, there was still some rain left. And it seemed that on the days she and Itachi had disagreements, the sky would be dark and pour murderously. Against her doing everything she could to make him comfortable, he'd snap at her.

"I appreciate what you're doing, Hanaru, but I can take care of myself. You should focus more on Ren just like I am doing." In other words, he was neglecting himself at home for their son, which was a no-no in Hanaru's book; he insisted and avoided her by going right into the kitchen for some sake, and that action made her so mad. Not that he was taking it with his meds from the doctor, since he knew better than that, but the fact he did it as a means to distract himself!

"Itachi Uchiha, I would put that down if I were you."

Not only these petty arguments, but she limited physical contact for his sake when he didn't act first. But they still shared the same bed, and yet it seemed like they were strangers. Their son coming into the picture should have made things a little better.

_He still feels guilty for missing the birth by even a minute, but that is Orochimaru to blame. Why doesn't he make peace like I have?_

"You should know that I loathe being told what to do in my own house," Itachi said angrily. By this time, he had the bottle in hand and a cup in the other while she sat cross-legged before the kitchen table. "I need something to help relax at the end of the day; is that alright with you?"

He did a good job keeping his voice low so not to startle Ren who looked over at his father despite not understanding a word. "I had no intention of telling you what to do," she replied. "Just looking out for you."

"Well, it's best to not try too hard. Just let some things be broken for a while. This is something I have to do on my own at the end of the day."

Furiously, Hanaru stood up. Her patience all but wore off especially with his attitude. "Fine, then do what you want," she said coldly, ignoring him altogether and needing time alone to herself and their boy in her arms. She wasn't going to let Ren be anywhere near this self-pitying man, never mind it might be cold to disregard her husband's feelings, but sometimes you drew the line and reached your limit.

She remembered having the dream of loving someone who she would endure with through thick and thin, to accept as you were, and that the spousal bond was forever...except right now felt far from that. Mother and child seemed to dominate, when she found herself making the decision to sleep in Ren's room, next to him, instead of tonight with her husband if he was going to drink himself off or something.

"Your father is being such a _baka_ right now, little one," Hanaru said when she found them both down on the dock, when the rain had halted for now. Humidity lingered and moistened her skin. And around were the white flowers in the trees in bloom, as well as the maroon and pastel flowers still serving their time until autumn...the picture reminding her of the night she and Itachi consummated one month before their wedding. It made her heart crack without breaking.

"Maybe all of this will be settled by the time that snake is done for, for sure this time," she swore, looking down at the baby she gently rocked, sitting down on the end of the dock, feet dangling over the dark gray water which was calm until the next sprinkling from overhead.

_Everything is so much more gloomy than before. I hate this so much I wish I could have the power to fix this, like Fugaku said. _

**Nowadays for me, it's difficult to write these violating situations without offending others who have either been in them, or knew others who have. :( **

**The flashback of a first scene did start with Itachi and Orochimaru, and as for the switch to our favorite Uchiha and his "wife" - that was a hallucination brought on by the drug given to him unawares. Thus when it was over and the effects worn off, he saw the snake man. And there you have it. :&**

**It was just as hard to do Itachi after these events, such as how he deals with it. No doubt he agrees to help, but to heal the heart is far more complex. Which is why he and Hanaru are also in a rut. **

**Review. :( No flames, please. **


	9. Shattered Bottle

**Man, weeks had passed. It's not uncommon, but it's inexcusable. **

**I have a feeling (as usual) that this story could be as long as its predecessor, "Night Flowers", or less, but lets wait and see. Either way, almost done after this one!**

**My birthday was on the 18th, then Easter a few days later, so I hope everyone had a good one with the latter. :)**

**I even got a few Naruto Shippuden sets for my birthday which have my favorite episodes, including the latest ones! :D I am so happy it ain't funny. **

**Hope this chapter was worth the wait. I've caught up with the latest of Shippuden, and THE FOURTH SHINOBI WAR ENDS - and with Naruto vs. Sasuke one last time. It was one damned emotional battle...**

Chapter Nine

Shattered Bottle

"Well, lookie here: I was hoping I would find you back up at the house, but you being here is better, kiddo!"

She whirled around and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw _Jiraiya_ standing there, running his remaining hand on the back of his neck. "Jiraiya-sensei, I never thought I would see you today!" Hanaru exclaimed, keeping Ren in hold and turning her body halfway while staying in her seat on the end of the dock, but eventually slid further back in case she felt like standing again.

He laughed and walked down the wooden plank to join her. "Yeah, well, let's say I am having a bit of a writer's block and thought I'd see you after Naruto."

_Writer's block - you'd need supreme inspiration to get back on track. Wonder what you're doing now, Pervy Sage. _And it certainly didn't hurt to call him her brother's nickname for him in her mind, just to make herself feel a little better. "Oh, how are things?"

"Just been peachy, as always. I even had a drinking match with Tsunade the night before now, and it's been a good while since I had something like that!" Jiraiya laughed heartily. His attention shifted then down to the baby who was looking up at him and cooing, reaching out to him. "Well, hello, big boy! You just get even more cuter each time!" He let his big hand be taken into the small, impressive grip. The action made the Toad Sage whistle.

But then the topic had to change, switching the pleasant mood to forbidding. "And how about the hubby himself?" Jiraiya looked at her with a small smile which didn't reach his eyes.

She had been dreading that. "Not...good," was all she could say. She sighed and lifted Ren to lay his head against her breast. "He's been a good father, but I wish I could say the same about his drinking he took up..."

Jiraiya sputtered when she said this, and he would have fallen off the dock had she not reached over with her free hand and yanked him back with all her strength, keeping the baby in place. "Y-you - you mean to say that husband of yours is _DRINKING_ despite doctor's orders?!" he demanded, face turning red. You could almost see the steam rising.

"That is correct. He says that I should not worry about him, but our son," Hanaru said bitterly, making him shake his head with dismay, his white mane swishing side to side.

"Come to think of it, he's right about paying attention to the kid more, since that's what being a parent is all about. But you're also right about what he's doing to himself." Jiraiya's face tightened with visible darkness; he must have been dwelling on the fact his former friend turned enemy was responsible, especially after finding out through Tsunade only, and who knew what thoughts of vengeance he was having.

Hanaru looked up at the sky, and she could have sworn she heard thunder rolling. _You could never be too certain if it would rain again or not when the last shower ceased an hour ago. _"Let's go inside, shall we?"

"Hell, yeah," the old man agreed. "I could use your cooking if you haven't done it yet, kiddo."

And as soon as they were inside, there was Itachi; she found him passed out in their bedroom at this time in the afternoon. By the time they were indoors, the dangerous pour began outside and wasted no time pelting all the windows. You could see the sheen nearly blend in with the lake. Everything was dark and light at the same time. The sight made Jiraiya whistle again.

"Man, and I thought I'd be right to assume that last one would be it before I came here!"

His exclamation made Itachi stir and murmur, but her husband didn't wake. Scoffing, Hanaru turned to walk out, cradling Ren and seeing he was fighting to keep his eyelids open, even yawning. She smiled down at him, going in the direction of his bedroom and hearing Jiraiya's footsteps as he followed her. _Maybe I can let Jiraiya-sensei rock you to sleep. _

She did just that, and it made the old Toad Sage all too happy. And it took a small adventure to get him to properly cradle the infant with just one arm. Some time passed before the child was fast asleep for his mother to take him and lay him down in his bed. "Has he given you much trouble?"

"Not at all," she answered, hushed as he was. "In fact, I was surprised that he didn't do much of that at night after he was born. But he sure eats like a pig." She laughed with him, though quietly to avoid making Ren cry because his nap had been disturbed.

_But I swear to Kami if Itachi wakes up and does that, he's gonna get more than a busted ass from me. _

Now she stood again in the doorway of the bedroom and saw her husband still sleeping in the same position he had been in before, chest gently rising up and down: on his back, both hands over his stomach. He just looked so...just like she always saw him, and it was handsome and ethereal as an angel, with his chiseled features and his long hair undone halfway, spilling behind his head like a halo - but then her attention fell to the sake bottle on the bedside table, which resulted in his current state. Hissing, she turned and stomped off, taking care to not actually cause a racket on the floor. But over her shoulder, she spat, wishing she could call him a _baka_ for real like she told their son on the dock.

But she had her chance when she met up with Jiraiya back in the kitchen for the lunch she promised. And even if Itachi wouldn't wake anytime soon, he would get his food and then take it on his own. He was a grown-ass man; he could get things on his own.

Jiraiya sensed her behavior, as always. His face was somber. "You poor kid. Wish I could get the power to take all of this away, for real."

Hanaru grunted, filling the pot up with water. She felt like miso soup and rice, nothing fancy. "Me, too. But I wish someone could finish that snake off if I can't do it myself - and I'm sorry that he used to be your friend, but what he did to my husband..." She couldn't bring herself to finish.

He sighed heavily. "Believe me, part of me wanted to, but how the hell can I when I only got one arm now?" He was attempting to lighten it up, and it did a small amount. "To think what he did to Itachi makes me think about what happened to him a long time ago, and it makes me sick more than then -"

Jiraiya quickly stopped his sentence, and the silence hung in the air only to be broken by the sound of the heavy rain which threatened to shatter the glass windows.

Hanaru would have burnt her fingers on the burner as she set the pots on their respective places if not for her self-control. Her body felt like it had undergone electroshock and continued to buzz. "Ji-Jiraiya, what are you talking about?!" _Did you mean to say that -?!_

She had to turn to look back at him only to see the grim line of his mouth and darkness of his eyes.

"That's exactly right, Hanaru. What happened to Orochimaru a long time ago was very similar to what he did to your husband. Just before the Second Shinobi War..."

~o~

_...what time is it?_

His body and mind together were in a muddied haze, and half of him wanted to just continue sleeping, but he knew he couldn't. The reason he drank himself to pass out was because she didn't even want to talk to him, and he didn't want to deal with her nagging on him about drinking to relax himself.

She didn't bother him about taking sake with his meds; what was he, a fool to put himself in danger like that when they had a _child?!_ But damn it, he could ease his senses whenever he felt stress for no reason if he wanted to! But he refrained himself from lashing out against his own wife and mother of his child when all she was doing was looking out for him.

_"It's best to not try too hard. Just let some things be broken for a while. This is something I have to do on my own at the end of the day..."_

The sound of rainfall on the window directed his attention to the storm outside. _Another one_. He exhaled and settled on laying back down again, this time folding his arms beneath his head to use as another pillow. From the corner of his eye, the sake bottle he remembered being nearly empty was there, but seeing it made him grit his teeth.

Hanaru had stormed out of the house with their son; where was she now? It was this thing he looked upon now which made her so spiteful towards him when he talked back to her. Whenever they fought as of late, she took to sleeping in the baby's room rather than kicking HIM out of here. That was what a wife would normally do to her husband if things got out of hand. Itachi wouldn't be surprised if she intended to do the same tonight with his outburst...

And then he heard voices outside the door.

"- so, what Orochimaru did...how could he do this to Itachi when he knew what it felt like?!" Hanaru was distressed and choking on her words. Peeking around the corner, he saw her cheeks puff before softening, telling him she was fighting not to get sick.

The visitor was Master Jiraiya. His face was taut with anger in the features and sadness in the eyes. "You took the words out of my mouth. But it happened a long time ago, just before the Second War. The three of us - him, Tsunade and myself - were out there to handle some of those guys from the Hidden Mist; we got the main guy, so it was an assumption that his followers wouldn't be of any trouble...except we were wrong. Not sure I even want to explain the details of what he told us happened to him."

Something in Itachi halted as he listened to the retired sage's words: _Orochimaru was...he suffered what he did to me. _

Everything the man told his wife reflected in Itachi's mind, causing his heart and stomach to roll over and threaten to come into contact with each other: _he was affronted and overpowered somehow, and he was affected with what he gave me, thus starting to twist him into the perverted monster he is now. All of his offenders saw him as a means to make an example of messing with them. _

He recalled sexual violence as revenge being common if not overt; jailers used it on prisoners to show who was in charge. Even when he was in the Black Ops, he had to eliminate sex offenders. But to dwell on the fact _Orochimaru_ had been through that long ago before the chaotic Second Ninja War...he couldn't fathom any of this. He was torn between hate and understanding, keeping with what the snake made him feel and took away from him.

_One of the legendary Sannin...the one who..._

"Tsunade was devastated," Jiraiya said, sounding like he was going to choke himself. "And I tried to be there for him, but he shoved us both away by getting angry and saying we'd never know what it was like. But he was also withdrawn since his parents died, and even then, he said the same thing to me."

Itachi clenched his hands into fists. If that bastard was like him, then it didn't excuse the fact he decided to inflict it on someone else - especially Itachi Uchiha, a married man with a new child. One of the most powerful Shinobi like he was...no, next to him and the Uchiha, he was just run-of-the-mill and low compared to most rogue-nins Itachi encountered.

There was only a twinge of sympathy, but not to go far, and he could see it in Hanaru's eyes, combined with cold hatred towards the snake man.

Itachi distracted himself by looking back around and glaring at the sake bottle - the very thing he drowned his sorrows in - imagining it as Orochimaru when he picked it up and flung it towards the nearest wall away from the bed...and felt a small ounce of satisfaction as it shattered and splashed what little was left on the floorboards.

The commotion got the attention of Hanaru and their guest, and it was far from amused.

~o~

She was never going to forget what Jiraiya told her: her husband's rapist and torturer had once been the raped and tortured himself, before the Second Ninja War.

_The trauma was too great that it began to warp his mind, forcing his own perspective on things to go askew; I recall that those with post-traumatic stress disorder involved the victims forcing the images back and trying to hide the guilt, even turning it into something else...and Orochimaru had become so unbalanced that he hid it all too well like a snake in the grass. _

It didn't mean, however, that she would forgive him for everything. She still planned to confront him in the future.

And at some point, she and Jiraiya both heard the sound of a crash that miraculously didn't wake the baby up; sometimes, Ren was a heavy sleeper during the day. When she and the old man stood up to investigate, they discovered Itachi had awoken - and there was the broken bottle of sake with what little was left on the floor.

He'd thrown the bottle to the wall, but why? When she demanded this, keeping her voice down so to not wake their son, he answered calmly, "Because of my choice to do this in the first place."

Hanaru recalled blinking that day, as she couldn't believe what she just heard. He was admitting what a bastard he was, and in a single day. But it was going to take so much more than just THIS, no matter if she was happy he came to his senses. _Because I _am_ happy he realized what he was doing after just waking up..._

...unless he heard everything Jiraiya told her. And it turned out he had, because the Toad Sannin figured it out already with a knowing smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"That means you got a load to do if you want to start turning those rain clouds outside into sunshine again."

That also meant there would be a heart to heart between them, so she left them alone, because what was said between the two men would be between them, and Itachi would tell her if he wanted to. She headed right into Ren's room to check on him, amused and relieved he was still out like a rock. Smiling, she gently ran the back of her knuckles over his smooth head of black hair.

She could only hope now that what Itachi and Jiraiya were talking about would start to finally make things a little better.

_"Let some things be broken for a while"...well, looks like we might not have THAT long to wait, after all. _

In the weeks that passed, he started improving relations amongst their friends and family, so it was beyond nice to see his parents, both their brothers and their friends accept his baby steps towards rebuilding internally. Which brought them all to this day just as summer was finally coming to an end: Naruto and Hinata's engagement party.

What better perfect timing to have the setting than when the leaves were turning color and the sun was shining? _In this season, the atmosphere starts to dry, but until winter comes, we get more rain on occasion. _

Thank the gods Hinata and Naruto would wed before the snow even touched the ground and the air became unbearably cold.

The event was packed not only with people, the after party taking place at the Hyuuga grounds, but the umbrellas custom-made were in different looks if all rimmed with gold: some had botanical blossoms, others blushing and the rest black and white.

At the center of it was the bride-to-be herself in the lovely lavender kimono covered all over with maple leaves of maroon red and brightly colored fans; her hair was in a lovely updo ornamented with chopsticks and some autumn-toned flowers. And Naruto was in burnt orange without even an ornament. Both smiling and happy no matter some of the stern faces of the bride's family.

She brought not only her husband with her, but also her son. Here as a family; some of the Uchiha were invited, but mostly the three of them, as well as Sasuke, Fugaku, Mikoto and Shisui. And all the members of the Konoha Twelve were there for their friends. Including all their senseis...

...and of course, Hanabi for her sister, and so were Misaki and Daichu. All here to just celebrate rather than focus on getting strong.

Old man Jiraiya was in tears while being patted on the back by Tsunade who was also wiping her tears away. Shizune and Tonton the pig were with.

Sadly, the Hokage was too busy to attend, and it was for one certain reason after being confronted by her and Sasuke together. Which would be dealt with tomorrow after the festivities were over.

It was a great day, which was a nice change from everything that had been happening; even Itachi seemed to be enjoying himself.

Speaking of her and her husband, things were definitely improving at home, though that meant no intimacy anytime in the future, not that she minded. Sharing the same bed and holding onto each other was what she was comfortable with. _Intimacy should have nothing to do with this, and it's not like I'd feel up to doing it again for a while after having a baby. _

And when they were getting ready for today, she'd found something that meant the world which started their courtship long ago...which she was wearing today.

The blue rose pendant which rested over her heart - that rosy golden beauty of delicate vines and four-cornered roses cradling the aqua blue gem. And what she told him was from the heart and made a tear roll down his cheek.

"You left it for me after our first dinner, but I returned it because I was afraid, and I thought you wouldn't understand. When you saved me from HIM, you gave it back to me after I told you I loved you...under park trees and lanterns, when the moonflowers were blooming."

How could she forget one of the most important aspects of their lives, and how could he? Itachi had bowed his head and rested it between her neck and shoulder. His body shook with the beautiful memento that he wished would erase the negative influences which would soon be left in the past once and for all...and that was what also led Hanaru to this day.

Because both of them had been screwed over with by that snake - no matter what justified his crimes - she wanted to be the one to spill his blood. _For what he did to my husband, and everyone else can thank me for avenging their loved ones and comrades taken away. _

She had her chance when she found Sasuke at the refreshment table, with Sakura beside him and finding it in himself to laugh with her at whatever it was. At the moment, Itachi was off and had Ren in his arms. He more than earned it, but why should a father earn having alone time with his child when he realized the error of drinking at home and distancing himself from his wife?

"Enjoying yourself, brother-in-law?"

He chuckled after downing a plastic cup of the best wine there was. "Never thought I'd say this, but yeah. Because this is my best friend; it's something worth enjoying." _You're really finally being such a man, Sasuke. Now I'll admit I'm proud of you instead of annoyed. _Sakura agreed with him, then asked how Itachi and the baby were, and Hanaru directed both their attentions to where he and Ren were: sitting at one of the tables while talking to Neji Hyuuga about whatever it was. "My brother is doing just fine," Sasuke noted, grunting noncommittally. "And I was thinking about talking him off for his drinking."

Sakura hissed through her teeth. The pinkette had been super pissed off when Itachi's actions got back to her. In fact, she, too, threatened to do more than just talk Itachi off, and you would know what that was.

"What the hell, you two?" Hanaru asked, laughing with them. "We're just here to do what everyone else is here for." They concurred, and that was all there was to it.

Hopefully, tomorrow would be what she'd waited an eternity for, which made her think about the conversation she had with her brother-in-law before her and her brother who was off with his woman.

These were Naruto's words: _"I could tear everything in his normal body from limb to limb, even all the small snakes that make up his real body, but he would just put himself back together!"_

_"You're right there, Naruto; it's difficult to find a weakness in that disgusting demon,"_ Sasuke had spat, _"unless someone has an idea I should have thought of."_

That was enough for Hanaru to declare what he said, and it shocked both him and Naruto...but it also might have sold them both.

_"How does the Uchiha's...secret weapon your brother used against Hidan last year sound? Might be all there is if we finally put that perverted snake out of our miseries once and for all."_

**Besides catching up on Shippuden and recent holidays, I have been on a roll with "Moonlight, Rain and Sakura" - which has one more chapter to go. :3**

**I had been debating on whether or not to have Orochimaru suffer sexual abuse in his past, because he is already a shit person, and to do this would make it worse. That was what my best friend said, though I thought it could still work - if NOT excusing what he did to Itachi. **

**The blue rose pendant is from the first story, "Night Flowers". After the mentioned first dinner, Itachi decided to attempt to court Hanaru for the first time with this - but she returned it to test and see if he was really serious. **

**Also: Itachi using the "secret weapon" against Hidan was something that transpired in "Bamboo Woods". You may know what I am talking about if you've read the predecessors. **

**Review please! Still nothing from no one. :(**


	10. Back into the Action

**"Moonlight, Rain and Sakura" is officially completed with no regrets. :D Now this story has the rest of my attention before I move on to finish my Kim Possible story, "Honeymoon in Cambodia". **

**Another warning in play when you begin this chapter, which is tied to earlier events. **

**Warning aside, this story has two or three chapters left! :D**

Chapter Ten

Back into the Action

Itachi didn't get much sleep that night despite having a blast with his family and friends at Naruto and Hinata's engagement party.

Being surrounded by everyone he cared about was what he needed, and it helped, but what happened that night after the fun was over made him bolt upright, and it was a miracle his wife was wiped out more than him for a change. Otherwise, he would have had to explain to her what he had to keep from her for her sake.

It happened to be the day that had come, and he had to inform Kakashi tomorrow as soon as possible.

~o~

_"LORD OROCHIMARU!"_

_"I'm...okay!" This was followed by a hiss and a clenching of the teeth which stifled a scream through them. "Damn it, Kabuto, this pain I should have anticipated!" If this were anything but, the situation would have been laughable to see, but it made the insides churn and threaten to spill out with nausea: the Snake Sannin was completely nude; the one thing blocking what was best not seen happened to be the abnormally large roundness that was his abdomen. Which meant one thing as to what it was. _

_It seemed his little rat wasn't taking it any better, based on the grimace of extreme discomfort on his face, even as he was forced to hold his master's hand for the duration of the first time..._

_...and then out came the first EGG the size of a two-month-old puppy. The screams began to increase with each one to pop out, and the agonized snake man admitted that he'd been better, which was almost comical. _

_Where did they come out? Right. Between. The. LEGS. _

_The same way a woman would give birth. It was enough to make the viewer lose control of keeping the contents in their stomach. _

_There were _eight _in total by the time Orochimaru's labor ended, and Kabuto was tasked with picking them all up individually to lay across the cleared lab counters, beneath both great sun lamps to give them all warmth. Behind him, the breeder was exhausted to his bones and laid back to look up at the ceiling, allowing a tired smile to stretch across his face in relief of the ordeal being over as well as the fact the hard work was paid off. _

_"At last, my...children are here."_

_He did not see the young man's face since the other's back was turned, but Kabuto swallowed as he did not like the implications which were far from the normal parental pride he'd seen in many people outside this environment. _

~o~

_Every intimate detail there was..._

And that was why he didn't tell Hanaru a thing, instead going straight to the Hokage.

What disturbed him beyond belief was the fact that the snake didn't have a care for what was made in himself...and knowing HE had played a part in that, albeit against his will. It made him reel inwardly because those things inside the eggs were _part of him. _

He tried telling himself that he had nothing to do with something that Orochimaru was at fault for, but at the same time, knowing they were being used for their creator's own twisted means made him decide that there had to be something that could be done to get them away and be cared for after they hatched - but no one knew WHAT they would turn out to be.

Itachi was all the more sickened at the thought of both him AND his wife in that snake man to help bring forth the offspring. Just...!

"I see." Even Kakashi appeared to be unable to keep himself together no matter his efforts. "You saw all of this in a dream."

"Yes," Itachi answered without shame. "Crystal clear as I see you now."

The man leaned back, stiff as ever. "Well, if what you say is happening, or is about to happen, then we had two months of gestation for Orochimaru. I'm still struggling to process this myself." You could almost see the sweat drop as proof. "And we don't even have the knowledge of the natural white snakes which are far too rare to find."

_The white snake itself is said to be a result of pigment mutations, particularly in rat snakes; other than that, no one's bothered to find out. But they are said to mean good fortune and...rejuvenation. Ironic with the latter. _

And that meant no one knew about their gestation periods, though the numbers varied in every species.

"Itachi...perhaps it is time to finally let your wife in on this, even if it risks her shattering the walls."

As if things couldn't get any more worse than they already were, but if the Hokage was right, then he had no choice but to agree with his word.

~o~

_You knew this all along and chose NOW to tell me...but I suppose I can forgive you all for this. _

And yes, even if she were super pissed off and sick to her very stomach, and on the verge of fainting.

"Oi, sister, hold on!" Naruto exclaimed when he came to her side as she nearly fell off her feet. "If anyone should pass out from something like this, it oughtta be me."

Sasuke scoffed. "You haven't done that since we were kids."

Frustrated, Hanaru pulled from her brother's arms and glared between them. "No one is gonna try to make me laugh after what I have just heard. You could have told me any time in the last two months, but I don't hate anyone for it," she added, looking back at her husband. They were all at the house, but Ren was with his grandparents since Itachi suggested they have time together for the first time in weeks. She was all too happy to agree - but that meant he had something to tell her with both their brothers present.

Never did she expect this, but it also made sense with everything the snake man had been up to, as well as getting what he took from Itachi. Everything came together...

_My chakra as well as Itachi's, having another's uterus adjusted within his body, and having a female's lower part for the final step since he's stolen that kind of body...oh, God, I'm gonna be sick more than when I was pregnant, and what he did to my husband...! _

And so, Hanaru made a mad dash for the nearest trash bin she could find, and her vision danced bright white. She vomited so much she thought she would faint as _otouto_ said; the next thing she knew, strong arms were helping her stand up and then over where the kitchen table was, followed by a bottle of sake being brought out to help her relax, though she feared getting sicker if she so much as took a sip of the alcohol.

What made it even worse was knowing those _eggs_ would hatch offspring with the various bloodlines their maker had stolen. Though, she was positive some of them might not make it, which was a small act of mercy. _I'm a mother myself, so why am I thinking this way? Those creatures are probably innocent, having no fault being created the way they were. _

"Just like two of the times I've seen him at work on those men," she said after speaking the thought. "The one who died and took the unborn with, and the other who survived but not the child." She hissed lividly. "So, boys, if Itachi's dream did happen, then Lord Hokage ought to send us all out tomorrow so we can make Orochimaru pay for sure. Not only is he gonna be vulnerable enough for awhile, but Kabuto is sure to keep watch over those eggs. If they hatch before or after we get there, we're gonna have _innocent children _suffering for something that they didn't choose. You get all that?!"

What she said stunned them all, but while Naruto and Sasuke gave it the most in their entire faces, Itachi only let it show in his eyes - and that was enough for him to reach and have another "what the hell?" drink, and she just let him.

"...you really care, don't ya?" Naruto grumbled. "Even if they can't be human, right?"

"You got that right, _otouto! _I don't know what should be done with them, but maybe they can be taken in by someone who will treat them right, and that way, they'll not end up being monsters." _If only I can promise that won't happen. I just hate to think about such things happening. _"Don't tell me you don't feel an amount of sympathy for them since it's something you know too well." That was enough for him to sputter and earn a bout of deep laughter from Sasuke as he slapped Naruto on the back even though the blond wasn't choking on his drink.

"You got to be kidding me!" Naruto exclaimed in disdain. "You're honestly using THAT against me!"

"She's doing just that, dobe," Sasuke told him slyly, enjoying every minute of this.

"That, and I'll never get sick of saying this: I'd love to see Orochimaru sealed away once and for all, so Sasuke, I leave that job to you. Means Naruto and I deal with Kabuto and the offspring until backup arrives. And Itachi...you just wait until we get back."

Which meant that by the time the snake was finished, their lives would officially return to normal. So she prayed.

Itachi was leaning over the table before both their brothers' eyes and did something that made her heart leap in her chest - a feeling she missed to death despite the weeks of efforts.

"You always asked me to come back safe and sound, so I'll demand the same of you. Because if Ren is deprived of his mother, I'll NEVER forgive you." Itachi warned this of her with an extremely hard expression that rivaled the faces in the Hokage Mountain. Holding her to her word; that was what it felt like in this position since she'd had the pants in this relationship.

_Totally what it feels like. But let's get this shit straight once and for all, and the village will be more than avenged - and my man here who is making my heart beat the way it used to. _

And the warning ended with a kiss that sparked fire which heated but didn't sear what was in its path.

~o~

Orochimaru sealed away by Sasuke's Susano'o? He prayed that nothing would happen to his brother, no matter how powerful he'd become.

He also wished Kabuto would be captured and answer to everything he played a part in. Though, at the bottom of his heart when he recalled telling Kabuto to reexamine himself since they were similar in some ways..._have you been doing that since I was rescued? Since you've clearly seen what a monster your master is? If my vision is anything to go by._

He was adamant about his wife and their brothers being the ones to finish the snake off. Hanaru had recovered earlier than four months for most new mothers, because she was an Uzumaki, which went without saying. So, he hoped she would fare against not only a possibly bedridden Orochimaru, but also Kabuto. She knew to not get ensnared again, which seemed to be an unwanted habit with them these days.

_This will be the last time. _

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with Ren, bouncing the boy in his lap while holding him up beneath the arms. His son laughed and gurgled, reaching out to him. That was until his wife cleared her throat whilst laughing, getting his attention to what she had him in here for...and it was enough to make him do a double take and wonder if this was the same Hanaru he knew when she was in combat, when actually she _was_ and yet different.

She was in her preferred blue, but with twists. The fishnet was still elbow-length and the blouse a quiqua fashion; the ensemble was finished with not only the standard sandals, but now with the navy blue Shinobi trousers. And her hair was held back into a ponytail which reached the nape of her neck.

_The Leaf's Explosive Force is back._

His breath had been stolen by the sight of her as she did to him in the early days of their courtship and eventually into their marriage before a certain serpentine demon wrecked it.

He could already imagine how she would fare when she went back out into the field and came back to him and their son unharmed. Even before today, he saw her fare with her trio who were happy to see her back.

_Unfortunately, I won't be there to see her and our brothers trap the snake in a more permanent cage where he would never get out again...unless the opportunity comes on Hokage's orders. _

This thought came when he recalled the day he confided in Kakashi about his demons he was still battling.

**The moment where Itachi dreams of Orochimaru in labor was inspired by a hilarious moment in the second part of "Killer Bee Rappuden" (Killer Bee's dream sequence in the Infinite Tsukuyomi arc) - we see Orochimaru, Kabuto and the snake summons getting their asses handed to them by the Jinchuuriki and their Tailed Beasts, all the while Orochimaru each time says he's okay and ends with "I've been better!" XD God, that was so funny to watch. **

**The disturbing event itself was inspired by something that someone on YouTube said when I watched a cute clip between Orochimaru and Mitsuki. Someone made a joke he'd laid an egg when actually Mitsuki comes from someone named "Log". XD The seed was planted naturally, and I never thought I'd use it for here and "Night Flowers" prior. **

**I recently found out about the pure white snakes which are called Shirohebi in Japan. They are rarely born in the wild and are said to be the result of mutations. They are idolized in temples and shrines notably in Iwakuni, in the Yamaguchi prefecture. And in 1972, the white snake was declared a protected, rare species in the country. **

**Hanaru has an update to her look in "Night Flowers", because if everyone else in canon got that in the future, so does she in here. :) The blouse was inspired by Sakura's dress in Part One of the franchise, but this time with the elbow-length fishnet and standard Shinobi trousers and sandals. **

**R and R! **


	11. Love and Honor

**Named for one of the newest songs by Celtic Woman, "Love and Honour". Has an epic quality to it. **

**This chapter has been difficult because we are at the end, but this isn't the last chapter. Itachi really needs full closure to heal himself and repair things so that Orochimaru won't be anymore trouble to him, his loved ones and his comrades. **

**Hope this final result satisfies enough. **

Chapter Eleven

Love and Honor

And where would Orochimaru be now, this time?

_Up in the mountains of all places...between here and the Hidden Rain. Where Pain once ruled over the Akatsuki. _

No irony there. When she asked this of her brother and brother-in-law, they didn't disagree with her. "At least it's just him since the numbers have all but dwindled, save for only a couple," Sasuke grumbled. "But I don't like the feeling that _message_ gave us..."

He was referring to the coded message the Rokudaime Hokage intercepted and immediately called them all. What it said was sensational and suspicious at the same time. Thus the Uzumaki siblings and the youngest Uchiha himself burst internally with impatience to get this over and done with.

_Orochimaru birthed eight young which still have not yet hatched; only four have not made it, as this can be the norm with animals who lay eggs. I cannot wait any longer and feel I have to act, which I should have done a long time ago. Why I never did before is to be saved for when Orochimaru is finished off as long as he is in his weakened state. _

_I am willing to cut a deal in exchange for freedom and servitude, or face life imprisonment along with immediate execution. Anything to atone. _

The writer was none other than Kabuto Yakushi, and he also added at the very bottom the location, which was where they were headed now. About damned time, too!

There was also something else that troubled her: only half of the unhatched young ones made it, and it saddened her immensely because they were still innocent and didn't deserve the way they came to be. It served to fuel her hatred towards Orochimaru. This was going to be the last time he did something abominable and traumatizing. No matter that he suffered abuse at one time.

You reap what you sow.

Before she left with their brothers, her husband held her in his arms while their son slept. She even fell asleep in them, and his words were just like hers in her own mind: "We'll figure out what to do as soon as those eggs are collected, since Kabuto hasn't specified." He sighed. "I've been troubled with the knowledge that parts of US are in them..."

And it was not only his rape that was the controversy, but knowing that parts of them each were in those embryos. "I don't want to be a cold-blooded monster and just let them die, so I say we give them to an orphanage or someplace, so that they don't end up like their so-called maker," Hanaru murmured, leaning into him. "I wish we could be the ones to take them in, but how...can we?"

He took a breath and then exhaled. Then he tilted his head at an angle to press a kiss on her temple. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "We'll figure it out. I'm sure Kakashi will, too. An orphanage might sound ideal, and perhaps a means to let them be welcomed into this village instead of as outsiders." _If it's otherwise, someone is gonna answer to me until they say yes. _

But as they discussed as a group - the both of them, their brothers and the Hokage - nothing would be in stone until Orochimaru was done for.

Before the night was over, her _saiai _continued to surprise her when he stood and swept her up, carrying her like she was his bride again. It took all of her self-control to not squeal and wake the baby up as he continued carrying her right to their bedroom. "Itachi, what has gotten into you?!"

"Nothing that should worry my wife," he answered strongly, laying down on his back and pulling her close to him. It almost set her body aflame, except a certain part which was close to recovering from childbirth after many weeks, but not completely.

"Ita -!" She was silenced by a firm but tender and loving kiss on the mouth which made her body jerk and her hands latch onto his shoulders.

_Oh, my God..._

This was the man she married, the one who revered her, devoted himself to her after giving the entire village everything - the one who loved being a father to Ren even now - he was here. He was doing something that they hadn't done in forever. Everything but this, and she was on the verge of tears at the sensations traded between them. Her lungs began to burn with the need to breathe, so she broke it off to gasp harshly. "You haven't done this in ages...darling."

She hadn't called him "darling" in forever, either, and this made him happy, because he pulled her down to him again so he could cover her mouth with his, reversing their positions and rasping out his passion.

"I've done more than neglect my own wife, but now I found the time to show you that I still love you..." He trailed off, making her frown.

"But what about...you know?" She referred to making love, which he caught on and shook his head.

"Someday, I'll be ready for that. But we don't really need it, as agreed. Is this enough, _koishii?_"

The tears wasted no time coming forth as her heart was touched at the center and spread all over with fiery sweetness at his wistful, heartfelt sincerity. Part of her wondered if he was still battling with himself, but she decided to not think further of it in that moment, since he was doing so well to make up for everything. She'd been there for him after what that snake did to him, and tomorrow, she would do this one thing that would end it all.

Which brought her back to the present, Naruto and Sasuke on either side of her as they leapt through trees, scoured countrysides and eventually passed small towns until they got to the border which began with dark rain clouds downpouring onto the earth and themselves.

The ANBU Black Ops were sent with them as backup - _but far enough behind for us to not see them -_ to keep Kabuto restrained in case a fight were to break out, but other than that, no one was breaking any bones. Which also left the job of the hatchlings to her and the boys, then a discussion of what to do with them when they were kicking and screaming, so to speak.

"Isn't it funny that this last fight will be rained upon, whether tears are shed or not?" Sasuke duly noted.

Indeed, it was funny, but not meant to draw laughs. If the thunder rolling was anything to go by, and the lightning flashed above those mountains to their northwest - where Orochimaru was resting and hiding out along with his hatchlings and the traitor who sold his own master out.

Naruto had to make one last announcement that was their oil to the fire in making them pact on going home alive. "_Aneki, _you got a husband and kid waiting for you, and Sasuke and I both have women to get back to, so none of us are gonna die like rats to be gobbled up!"

~o~

_"Are you sure it's wise to do this, Itachi?"_

_"I'm absolutely sure, Kakashi. I've never been better. I trust the care of my son in not only my parents' hands and my friends', but yours in addition. I solemnly swear to come back alive and with his mother and our brothers in tow."_

_"Not only that, but you're certain to go through with confronting Orochimaru without fighting? I don't think your wife will approve of this."_

_"Regardless, even if she thrashes me into the walls or even out the window as soon as we come home, she'll understand in the end why I did it. Being here in this village won't completely erase what is left of my turmoil. It has to come to an end."_

Talking about this with his parents wasn't any better, either. Not only was his mother worried - despite being ecstatic to care for her grandson while _both _of his parents were gone - but his father had to threaten him that Ren was going to be deprived of both parents if there was an underside to all of this, but it wasn't like Itachi wasn't aware of that.

Fugaku's last words to him before his departure were this: _"Bad enough what that snake did to you and all of us, but for you to head out there just to face him with words in his weak state? I wouldn't count on the plan being intact. You'd better hope it was worth it, boy."_

The warning was stern, but Itachi was also certain his father was worried as much as Mikoto was, even if the man never once showed it. Nevertheless, he thanked them both and asked them to protect his son if anything DID happen to him as well as his mother and both uncles. Though no one intended to die today if they had anything to say about it, which was something his brother-in-law would say.

_Because both you and Sasuke each have a woman to go back to. _

His excuse to Team Hanaru: he would be on an errand by order of the Hokage, and it would perhaps last before the week was over, and that they would have their chances to go on a three-man mission without him now that they were Chuunin, so he believed in all of them.

Hanabi, Misaki and Daichu looked at him with something akin to mist in their eyes as they thanked him.

So, here he was now, and he wasn't alone; he had Shisui with him. And his cousin asked him the same thing the Hokage had. "I need to, Shisui. This is far more personal than anything in my life," he said strongly. "The nightmare is going to end not only for everyone else, but me."

"Then I'm with you, Itachi. The stronger the odds, the better. Though I have to say, half of me thinks this is...insane."

They ceased in their trip through the trees, Itachi pausing to whirl around and glare at his cousin, crouching in the tiger position. _How dare you call me that when you know me better?! _"Insane to want to put the past behind me in a final resort when everything else has done so much? Perhaps Hanaru will beat me like a vicious wild animal, but it's minor compared to what Orochimaru did to me. At least she will be there as will our brothers...and you."

That was enough to bring a smile to Shisui's face, and they resumed the flight.

It was a matter of time before the stormy border to the Hidden Rain Village lay ahead. He was certain the trio were already there, but if not, then he was prepared for whatever waited in those mountainous caverns...

~o~

When you saw one lair or hideout, you must have seen them all, because they looked so alike. That was the case here. _Because the purpose is to blend in and not bring attention to yourself. _

"Man, this place should give me the creeps like the others used to," Naruto was saying as they prowled beneath the cave walls, voice hushed even after they found no traps - which meant Kabuto must have lowered all the defenses since he wanted no fights, but you could never be too careful - and he looked around every "corner' they came to. "Been waiting for that chill to come up my spine since we crossed the entrance..."

He had his Sage Mode eyes on, scanning to see if there were any surprises, and he did report that Kabuto was waiting for them but not moving; before that, Hanaru did sense his presence, but not on the level as her brother. And Orochimaru was further away yet not going anywhere, since his rat literally _ratted_ him out in that he was still confined to the bed, which made things all the more easier.

_This place doesn't feel all that much of a threat. Doesn't stop me from saying this is too good to be true. _

"...I got where the rat is, you guys," Naruto announced, and not long after did they see the guy himself. The three of them halted in their rush through the corridors, eager to get this over with, and paused with him on the left, Hanaru herself in the middle, and Sasuke to her right; his Sharingan was ablaze to detect if the bastard before them was lying about his intentions...but so far, there didn't seem to be anything of the sort.

Seeing Kabuto Yakushi made her think about her time in his and his master's captivity. Half of her still hated him because of how he treated her, so Hanaru didn't give him the benefit of the doubt.

Sasuke and Naruto took it no better. "How's your master now that he is weak enough to be chopped in half?" her brother growled savagely. "Because this is his last day on this earth, or did you not expect to hear that?"

Kabuto glared back at him but ignored him altogether. "Thank you three for coming here when I didn't think anyone would take it seriously. Never thought the Hokage would send you three...and Hanaru, didn't you have a child recently?" he asked, looking her way. She lifted her chin at him.

"Itachi and I have a son - he's barely three months old now - and that's all you get to know."

He didn't seem affected - until she looked into his eyes and flinched when she saw the guilt, which the boys also noted and Naruto was the only one to scoff at. "What's that, traitor? You really as guilty as you claimed you were in your letter? It's all good and well now, but you still aided that snake who butchered many lives - including screwing around with my sister and my brother-in-law."

Now Kabuto was lowering his eyes as he clearly absorbed Naruto's words. "...you're right," he said finally. "It's not only dwelling on the past, always knowing what Lord Orochimaru was like and still remaining with him - but it was because I had no other place in the world - until _Itachi _made me open my eyes up. All these years, I've sank deeper and deeper without knowing who I really am. I still don't know, but there is one thing I can do as a start. If you would just follow me so you can see them..." _The eggs. _

When they were brought to the laboratory - the Snake Sannin elsewhere and still not going anywhere - there the four remaining eggs were, and they weren't what the trio expected. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, assessing the condition of the quartet with his jutsu.

"They are swirling with many bloodlines and jutsu...one of them being the _Uchiha._ Damn it all," he hissed. "That means they will someday surpass even us, if they were trained as Shinobi."

"You got that damned right, teme," Naruto agreed, baring his teeth. "But imagine when they grow up knowing they would have been used as toys to be tossed aside when they've served their purpose. Who the hell wants to live with THAT?!" He looked at his sister who only returned it from the corner of her eye. "And who wants to blame 'parents' who didn't want any part of this, were innocent as much as them?"

_Parents..._

_Technically, Itachi and I _are_, but not in the way we made Ren. Still, you have a point, Naruto._ And Kabuto seemed to agree with him, mouth in a tight line.

"Which is why I thought of a place where they might be safe, and allowed to return to the Leaf if they wanted to. I know someone there who might be able to ensure they don't end up hating anyone, to be given choices instead of having them made for them, and to not be taken advantage of." Based on the way he said that, it sounded like her husband - whatever he said - had made him have a change of heart.

Maybe she could find it in herself to start respecting him, if forgiveness wasn't in the question.

"Kabuto, what can you tell us about the events before their birth? Such as...gestation and how he managed...no, Itachi said he saw all of this in a dream of all things." Sasuke grimaced.

The spectacled man cleared his throat. "Y-yes. It was barely two months overall, kind of like certain snake species, though the fact eggs came instead of live young kicking and screaming as normal humans was a complete shock when I performed examinations before the term was over." His cheeks turned pink ear to ear. He was just as embarrassed and disturbed as they all were, no matter his years of experience.

_Proves he is still a human being, and he's showing some evidence of feelings. _

"And now that we're here," Hanaru said, "you said you wanted either protection or imprisonment and didn't care which one."

When he gave his answer, not one of them sensed - yet - two more presences enter the cave, going in another direction altogether from their current position...and heading right for where Orochimaru was.

~o~

When you saw one hideout like this, you saw everything. He wouldn't be surprised if anyone else echoed his thoughts, which was a little funny in itself. Shisui had to whistle and attempt that joke, which lightened up this doom and gloom atmosphere.

The Uchiha had no such ability as pinpointing chakra locations, but he knew where the snake man was without trying too hard - and Shisui did the job better than him.

The two men saw the immobile form laying across a cot on the floor, which told him that there were no resources for a real bed like some of the hideouts in the Sound Village. Bare, ashen skin was exposed mostly on the back, but covered below the waist, and black hair splayed in a mess behind the person. The face was halfway turned from them, the eyes closed, but he wasn't asleep at all. _Only pretending to. _

Finally, Orochimaru spoke, having known he'd come.

"What a minor but pleasant surprise it is to see you again, Itachi. Have you come to finally kill me yourself when you know you can't?"

Itachi gritted his teeth behind taut lips while his cousin watched with narrowed eyes, but the silent message was clear: _he's just getting to you. _And that meant not only his endless list of heinous misdeeds, but the recent one against Itachi himself. The snake was testing him as to whether or not he came to slaughter him for THAT. Taking a deep breath, he answered monotonously.

"No. I'm here to talk to you only, and to...regain my honor and see if I can forgive you for everything you did. For everyone's sake, my family's, and my own, Orochimaru."

**Snake facts: copperheads and tiger snakes are known to birth live young, with very large litters. Though with copperheads, they store the sperm until hibernation (if mating in autumn), and same with the tiger snake, though usually the end of summer. The average incubation for eggs is said to be 55-60 days, and the gestation period is 3-9 months (copperheads) or 3 months to 121 days (tiger snakes). Basically, live birth or eggs is not in stone. **

**R and R! That's all I'm gonna say...and after the entire story, I still get nothing from no one. (demon face) I wonder if it's because of what Orochimaru did to Itachi, or the disturbing themes overall. **


	12. End of the Darkness

**So, here is officially the final chapter, and named after the song by Trobar de Morte. **

Chapter Twelve

End of the Darkness

"...your honor, eh?" Orochimaru rumbled in his throat, opening his eyes now and turning to look at him from the side. He didn't move from his current position.

"Because what is the use fighting the likes of you and killing you when you're disabled?" Itachi pointed out, folding his arms across his chest. "Death is still too easy for you." The very same words slipped out of his mouth from the day he had his katana over this pitiful creature before sheathing it behind his back. "I had dreamed of finally carrying it out, but seeing you like this has made me change my mind."

Now Orochimaru turned to lay on his back, looking at him from the front. The lean, pallid form with musculature similar to his own did nothing to faze Itachi, though he wished the snake man had been fully clothed before he came here. Shisui made a noise of disgust, unabashed at showing it.

"Do I look so pitiful to you...unlike last time? Does it satisfy you to see that I am in no position to fight you? And after having YOUR children?" That vile tongue slithered out to lick his lips - _that tongue which tasted and repulsed almost every inch of my body _\- and the sharp, dripping fangs.

Well, no use lying, was there? "Beyond, compared to where I am standing now," Itachi answered proudly. "There is no use talking about what you almost did to my wife, or all the others long before her...but this time, it's simply me." Now he flinched at the last part the snake had to say, which also made his cousin grit his teeth and growl.

"As to what you said about 'children'...they are not one hundred percent mine. I didn't even have a willing involvement in their creation."

There seemed to be a falter in expression before it retained sly character. Golden yellow eyes glittered as the Uchiha went on.

"You could never fathom the pain you caused others - including me and my family," Itachi went on, hands clenching into fists. "Thousands of us in total. What adds to it now is the fact you clearly have absolutely no emotional attachment for any of your victims, your former friends and comrades...or even those _children_ in the eggs. You see them as merely vessels to carry on what you wanted but couldn't have, only to toss them aside if they've been useful enough, just like your lackeys before now. You see human life as wasteful, and look at you now. Everything you did is more of a waste than our own lifespans." His own lips pulled back in a snarl. "All of which means you are unfit to be a true parent, even if that was never your intentions."

This spawned a look of utter shock on the Snake Sannin's face, and the words matched. "Parent? What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Exactly as he said," Shisui said, deciding he kept quiet for too long. "You had eight offspring, four dying and you not even shedding a tear. Point is, a parent has emotional attachments to their breed besides your purpose. Not only do they pass on what matters, but there is one thing above all else: love is what they give freely without a price. Which means you, Orochimaru, are just what you've always been even now." His four-pointed Mangekyo swirled to attention, not intending to act out, but as means to intimidate, and Itachi followed suit with his three-pointed pinwheel.

Perhaps they both expected that kind of response from Orochimaru when he burst out into harsh, rasping laughter. "Parents and love...those two rarely go hand in hand, and do you know how many women claim to be in love only to find themselves backstabbed and betrayed? Love is a _lie _that one makes to assume is real when, all in reality, it is that we as a species are meant to procreate and continue the existences of our next generation, and pass along what it is before we, too, become extinct. This excuse called love is just as fallible as believing there's a true god in existence, Itachi."

"You sack of snakeskin, there is nothing but lies to what you say. This thing called love DOES exist; it's not the easiest thing in the world, because it is something to work long and hard for. If it is worth it, we don't know the final results until they actually happen."

The person who spoke turned up behind them, and it was none other than his wife - his precious _aoibara_ \- who bared her teeth like an angry cat, flanked by both Naruto and Sasuke, and Kabuto right behind them to not be seen yet by the master he sold out.

Orochimaru looked upon all of them - except his assistant - while sitting upright now, hair falling over one shoulder. "Well, well, this is a full family house. Who would have imagined this day would be interesting?" He gave them something that was a mockery of aghast at knowing why they were here, and at what Hanaru said.

Her eyes blazed blue fire. "You're a liar. Parents' love matters and triumphs above all else -" She was speaking of her own who gave their lives for the Leaf and their children. "- and so does romantic love. It's the most wonderful thing that exists even today in this world." But Orochimaru didn't seem as convinced, or he chose to just continue toying with her.

"Then enlighten me since you yourself have a child along with dear Itachi."

"He's a perfect combination of us both, he's gonna be a strong Uchiha one day, and we all know it - but that's not all there is. Love is the greatest strength to get you through life, though there is a difference between love and being IN love," she added with a firm glance at Itachi, no trace of anger at him being there, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have a talk after all of this. "And my husband is right; what would you know when you don't even remember what it was really like?" This offended the snake rogue greatly, for his teeth were bared in a hiss.

"Like I said, it's a great pain and an excuse to hide the hideous reality."

"That doesn't mean jack to us," Sasuke cut in harshly. "Itachi, Shisui, would you both get out of the way so I can get this over with?!"

Already, the purple halo began to form around him, telling everyone his Susano'o was coming forth and that he couldn't wait any longer. But his best friend halted him.

"Yeah, before you do that, Sasuke, he oughtta know something. Orochimaru," Naruto growled, "your kids are not gonna grow up as weapons, nor are they gonna be mistreated if we have anything to say about it. They'll have real friends, maybe a real home and love, but nothing detailed is in stone yet. But know they'll end up far better than you ever have - and ever will."

And it was then and there that Susano'o roared to life, engulfing its user in the warrior's armor after going through the giant skeletal set and then the sinews, finished with what you saw now. The sight made Orochimaru's eyes dilate as if entranced. "It's funny that I can't enjoy this in a fair fight especially after eight hatchlings, which must be something you know too well, Hana-chan," he said to her, but she sniffed and refused to say one more word to him. "Oh, not one last word to say - not even about your own child?"

Itachi glared at him. "You won't survive to hear of it, snake."

"That's right," Hanaru agreed, "but one person had that luxury since he's earned some ounce of our trust."

Said person turned out to be Kabuto, and it was then that Itachi realized without too much effort that the spectacled medic had accepted his words while the Uchiha had been in captivity. He could assess no traces of lie and deceit in those eyes, and something within him swelled. _But what are you going to do now, Kabuto? You surely will face punishment for aiding this snake. _

When Orochimaru locked eyes with his treacherous rat, he snarled and bellowed out at the same time as Susano'o's hidden weapon burst out and made contact with him.

~o~

Sasuke did it, and that snake was locked away until he would eventually waste away and die without nourishment. Seemed befitting, right?

But she was never going to forget Orochimaru's last words before the deed was done.

_"Pray that you are doing the right thing with the children, Itachi - YOUR children, and technically Hana-chan's, as well. But perhaps you should consider forgiving me, at least, for keeping you from your own child's birth while we had been busy."_

He pissed her off - the lot of them - for the last time, but what use was there to say anything else to him in his final moments? She had to turn her eye to the side and give Sasuke the signal to do exactly as they discussed...and for once, things went according to plan which was uncommon in the Shinobi world. Wasn't it nice when life went that way?

And as all of them left that domain within the mountain, the rain had stopped pouring, and it appeared the sun was going to come out.

Ironic: Orochimaru, the snake and genius of the legendary Sannin, had been defeated and sealed rather than killed, not in honorable combat - since in the past, many as well as themselves tried and failed - but while he was weak from "childbirth" and in no position to fight anyone. It was no less than he deserved; they all agreed on that.

That left one more thing to do as soon as they were all back in the village, and beneath the Hokage Tower to conduct one of the strangest examinations perhaps in Leaf history.

Hanaru was there, along with her husband - and after this, she was gonna have WORDS with him, or more, when they were alone at their house but before they would pick Ren up from Mikoto and Fugaku's - and their brothers, while Kabuto was elsewhere and being interrogated by Morino's team.

"My God, I'm shocked - no, I don't know what now," Sakura hissed when she ran her green chakra-infused hands over each pup-sized egg. "Just about every single powerful jutsu Orochimaru took...and now the Uchiha's. They're not all in a single person, but spread out, and we have no way of knowing who has what until they are maybe older."

Kakashi was behind her, supervising the private inspection at the pinkette's hand, deeply troubled. "Never did I think it would come to this...and if only they'd be easily accepted into the village the way they are. The orphanage we have could take them in, but some villagers might not be ready to accept them -" He was interrupted by Naruto.

"Yeah, but the villagers accepted ME when I showed them. These kids have no fault of theirs, no matter who they come from."

"Yes, but the problem is when they look at these four and see who their father is; they will always uphold the idea that the sin lies with _them _than the one who really is at fault. No child should ever be in such a situation." Kakashi was speaking of his own personal experiences when his father took his own life to atone; no matter what, it still felt like a hollow blow and did not make the pain any less. He was angry and betrayed before realizing that it was all a part of human nature to find something to throw at.

The Hokage didn't like this any more than they did, but the decision was final, so that meant placing them where Kabuto suggested: _the orphanage outside the Leaf Village._

Kabuto had it in himself to tell them why this place. He had no recollection of his former life, until a kind woman named Nono Yakushi - which was where he got his identity from, since he didn't remember his real name, either - took him in. This woman happened to be a former member of the ANBU Root, now dissolved, and a captain of the Medical Corps. The orphanage she ran took in children who were made orphans in different parts of the Fire Nation - and also served as a treatment center for injured Shinobi.

Kabuto added that he remembered _Danzo Shimura_ coming to blackmail the one he called "mother" into taking an undercover mission, then eventually did the same to the young boy...and led to Orochimaru taking him under his wing.

_So, he does have a soft spot, after all. Who would have thought?_

Now at the present, it was then that the six of them were shocked by the trembling of the four eggs before them. Sakura swallowed a gasp of her own as she announced the obvious: they were all hatching now.

"Let's see what the offspring of Orochimaru and...me..." It was beyond difficult for her husband to get out those words, and she took his hand into hers. "...look like."

~o~

_Two boys and two girls. _

To see them for the first time, kicking and screaming as soon as they broke free from their shells...it caused something in his heart to also crack and spill the blood.

All four appeared to be as white as their "mother", and two of them scaly as a reptile - specifically both girls. All of them had hair black as night. But their eyes didn't yet open, which was a surprise especially when infant girls were known to have their irises taking in their first surroundings. Anatomy wise, they were normal as each gender could be expected, but upon further examination, each of their chakra were taken in samples to be put under microscopes.

Even the greatest _kekkei genkai_ besides the Sharingan could be seen within two of them, whereas one girl possessed the Uchiha's bloodline. Was there irony in _that?_

He and Hanaru stood before the four that he and Orochimaru...he was going to have to keep it at bay as long as they lived, unless it didn't go according to plan, which was the norm.

There was a great worry about holding them - any of them - because of fear of attachment, so to see his wife pick one up after being granted permission by Shizune who came down to help Sakura examine them...he watched her cradle the girl like she did their own son, holding the child upright and smiling kindly no matter how this looked much like the one who brought her and her siblings into this world.

"I'm sorry we won't be able to raise you, your sister and brothers," Hanaru whispered, rocking her side to side. "But know that _none _of you are a crime for being born, and if it's possible, you'll all come back here someday - somehow."

Itachi found himself looking at the others who were all fast asleep now, then back up at Sakura and Shizune who both had somber looks on their faces. But in their eyes was a touch of care the woman showed for these almost-inhuman beings, one in her arms. It made him decide he could take the risk and endure it, settling on one of the boys, mimicking Hanaru's embrace, and looked upon this face which reminded him of the moment he held Ren for the first time.

It was also insisted that each of the children be named so that no one else would do it for them - and Hanaru had one that came to mind: "Ai...to let her know that she and her siblings will have it even if it's not in person."

_She's saying the children will be loved no matter what, even if we are not there. _

The others were eventually named: her sister was called Haruka, to symbolize the distance that was going to be placed between all of them, and their brothers Kenji and Masashi - but no surname for any of them. Because there were also people out there without a surname.

Eventually, Kabuto was released from interrogation but kept under strict surveillance and was granted the order: he would be watched at all times as he was set free, under conditions that he be the one to raise the four along with the other orphans. Someone from his past - the one who currently ran the orphanage - would be glad to welcome him there, and if he did good service, he would be taken out of the Bingo Book for good.

Kabuto gladly accepted the terms and was out of their hair for good, but who knew if their paths would cross again somehow.

Itachi had never been so relieved to see one of their enemies leave...though he wished he could say the same for the mildly hollow feeling in himself as the four newborns were gone from his and Hanaru's lives. Looking at her, he saw the same feeling reflected in her eyes.

He reached and took her hand into his, just like she did when Sasuke sealed away their greatest shared enemy - and when the four hatched.

The promise was kept: they came back alive to delighted friends and family - especially with his parents and _Ren _who cooed and reached for them both. His mother was all too happy to take him into her arms first, leaving the father to smile and embrace his wife from behind while reaching around and pinching their son's cheek with his fingers.

He expected Fugaku to say something to rub it in their faces that they came back as he made them both promise, but his wife swatted him and laughed that their son and daughter-in-law had the intention all along, and that Shisui and Sasuke also deserved the credit - but mostly Sasuke for finishing off the Leaf's greatest rogue in history.

You heard it right: his brother was given the greatest honor of being recognized all the more, not only throughout the village, but in the Uchiha clan. He'd never seen Sasuke so pleased with himself, but he didn't boast, either.

That did nothing to make Naruto complain that the spotlight was on his best friend and rival this time.

And speaking of him, he and Hinata's wedding day finally arrived before the snow would fall, when less than three months would pass since the incidents. And it wasn't raining, even though the sky was overcast, threatening so...until the great, golden star emerged and shone. The sight made Itachi Uchiha think about everything in the past several months, which would someday be gone if not forgotten completely.

It had been raining so much, with the sun coming out periodically. But when times were hard, the flood increased and made everything gloomy and hopeless. But now that the sun had come out, everything had been cleansed and renewed.

Hanging overhead along with the flora arrangements were cheerful paper pinwheels that had been made by Konohamaru Sarutobi and his friends: sunny yellow, sky blue and even _orange_. The vibrant flowers of the season which draped the location - none other than in the public park overlooking Hokage Tower and a charming portion of the village - and acted as the backdrop for the bridal couple and their parties were a reflection of inner change, from darkness to light again until something would cause the wicked side of life to return.

Looking around, Itachi was pleased everyone was overjoyed as much as he was. Part of him felt like shedding tears of joy, more for the happy couple they were all here for.

His brother-in-law was in a haori, like he had been on his wedding day, and he would never forget how beautiful and happy Hanaru had been. And then came the bride herself, dolled up in white trimmed with red and her lavender-tinted raven hair placed with a fresh white flower, holding an umbrella of soft gray and blushing roses. Even her stern father was smiling as he and her cousin Neji walked her towards her groom...and Jiraiya was making a scene by bawling his eyes out while leaning into a scolding but otherwise overjoyed Tsunade for support.

In terms of every single other person who gathered to watch the wedding of the Hyuuga heiress and the man she loved, the future Seventh Hokage, there was not one dry eye.

Hanaru, baby in arm, was wiping the corners of her eyes with her knuckles. She was unable to hold it in, hiccupping as she did so. She was with Sakura, Ino Yamanaka, Kurenai Sarutobi - the bride's former sensei - as well as Hanabi and Misaki along with many other women in the bridal party, and how could Sasuke not be present with the other young men?

Even the Uchiha agreed to put aside any differences with the Hyuuga for this one day.

Traditional but meaningful gifts were bestowed to the newly married couple, which they thanked everyone for - and the food and festivities could begin as the evening colors began to pale.

Itachi was tempted more or less to get his drink on by Shisui as well as Naruto who was overenthusiastic about being married now, but too much meant a disaster. Not only when it came to his brother-in-law who would eventually head off with his new wife to do what all newlyweds did on this night, but imagine the hilarious but dire consequences that would ensue!

Add that Itachi's own wife would be forced to have him dragged back home even if she couldn't do it herself, not when she had the baby on hand. _Whom she had to have on this day even if he is too young to understand adult marriages. _

When the fun was over, everyone was exhausted to their bones and heading to their homes while the bridal couple was off to her family compound for their wedding night - though he doubted they would have the energy for that, after today's events - and then leave the next day for their honeymoon at any popular suite of their choosing. He wouldn't be surprised if they ended up conceiving their first child in this time, either.

"Oh, God, I am so tired I could sleep the entire day tomorrow!" Hanaru said as soon as they were safely inside their home by the lake. The moon was a sparkling silvery-white disc and rippled the color in the gentle waves. She was yawning nonstop, and at this rate, he suspected she would end up dropping their son unintentionally, so he acted fast and took the baby from her arms, whisking Ren safely to his own room. The boy was out like a log that it seemed he would end up waking both parents later in the night, his father thought with amusement.

Seeing his son sleep peacefully brought content in Itachi that he stayed for awhile just because he wanted to - _but I pray the four at the orphanage are faring well, from what Kabuto reported in his last progress - _until the silent call reminded him to go join his wife who had been waiting for him since he put the baby to sleep. And when he did go to her, he was greeted with a special surprise that struck him since the very first time he saw her.

"Itachi-kun..."

She was in the very same slip she loved out of anything else for the night. Taking his breath away, constricting his lungs, once again. Her hair was spilled over both shoulders and framing even her breasts. The sight was enough to make him begin to stir in a certain part of his body. Whether she must have planned this or not didn't matter, because he'd ALWAYS seen her this way, and the effect was still the same.

_My beautiful _koishii_. _

What was in the past would stay there, so that was what they were going to do. They were moving on with their lives instead of letting what happened a long time ago take control again.

With that, Itachi Uchiha wasted no time removing every inch of his clothing before getting into bed with the woman he loved. He forgot all about Orochimaru from then on.

**I just now realized the Totsuka Sword belonged solely to Itachi's Susano'o, after having believed Sasuke could use it somehow, but then I couldn't find him having that ability (though his Susano'o has a gourd depicted in its secondary right hand, in the final form). I decided "what the hell?" since I've already laid it out that he'd do the job of sealing away the Snake Sannin once and for all. Hope anyone can forgive me if this was a mistake from canon.**

**There are reasons I named the four offspring: Ai for obvious reasons since it means "love", whilst Haruka is "distance", though one of the boys is named after a well-known Japanese director from back in the day that I greatly admire (Kenji Mizoguchi who directed the 1953 picture "Ugetsu") and the latter Masashi which is a tribute to the creator of THIS anime/manga. :'3 **

**Itachi and his wife - I have no idea whether or not they got to being intimate again, but I chose to leave this ending opened to everyone's imagination. Just decide for yourself, which is the best course to go. **

**I also realize rape victims can be affected for YEARS at most, and the choice to be intimate again is entirely up to them, which means this was also Itachi-kun's choice. Plus, several months have gone by since THAT happened to him, and he's a strong Shinobi who overcomes anything that heads his way; the same goes for his wife, their loved ones and comrades. **

**In case someone asks if there will be more, the answer is no. Especially in case of the four offspring between Itachi and Orochimaru; just imagine life will be as our characters talked amongst each other. Because I have more projects planned and shit in life becoming harder than it needs to be, I don't need people asking for MORE even if they loved it so much. You just need to accept what is in front of you. **

**This is the end of the Night Flowers Saga! But not the end of future projects. Review please! :'3**


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